Modern Games (Cops and reality)

[MarkB]

I've dropped games because of real world conditions that mirrored the non-modern game. Alien was just too close to home for the pandemic.
I won't run any election based scenarios in Stargate for at least a couple months.

I watch a few actual-play RPG shows, and there was one with a post-apocalyptic setting which, back in March, decided to pursue a plot-line of a major epidemic in one of the settlements. I bailed from watching that one.

 

[Gradine]

It is also false to assert policing is unfixable.

I don't believe that I did. It very possibly is. I'm not convinced it's worthwhile though, given the available alternatives.

What i love the most about role playing games is that, moreso than any other medium, you really get to create and explore new worlds; and what's more, the goal is typically to work together towards solutions to potential issues. Imagining better futures in a fun and safe environment.

Unless we're taking about Paranoia, in which case the goal is to pin blame on your buddies when things inevitably go pear shaped and hope you survive the debriefing. Which can be fun too

 

[billd91]

Unless we're taking about Paranoia, in which case the goal is to pin blame on your buddies when things inevitably go pear shaped and hope you survive the debriefing. Which can be fun too

Being the only one to survive the mission is a good way to survive the debriefing because you can speak without fear of contradiction. I got a promotion to orange that way once (and only once).

 

[zarionofarabel]

I'm not convinced it's worthwhile though, given the available alternatives.

What alternatives would those be?

 

[MNblockhead]

I don't like to play modern games or games grounded in reality mostly because they can be derailed by debates over verisimilitude.

I'm not dinging people who argue about something in a game not being realistic, because I am that guy in modern games.

For example, I find the depiction and use of guns in these games to be unrealistic and that annoys me. Whenever I try to let it go and just go with cinematic physics, I keep getting hung up on how unrealistic they are, especially when cinematic tropes influence people's understanding of and opinions about things in the real world.

People's unrealistic, cinematic use of torches, archery, and other aspects of medieval fantasy do not translate into stereotypes and incorrect information that influences how people think laws and policies in the real world should work.

 

[Gradine]

What alternatives would those be?

It would be way outside the bounds of allowed discourse to take you down that particular rabbit hole, but I can recommend Googling "alternatives to policing" for a start. There's a lot out there, including stuff I've never even heard of before.

I'm a particular fan of restorative justice myself, but the reality is that a number of alternatives would have to be considered and implemented in different ways; it's a complex problem needing to be solved, and currently all we have is a hammer. And when all you have is a hammer...

 

[hawkeyefan]

My group just recently finished a Blades in the Dark campaign using the playtest material that allows you to play as the Bluecoats, which are the setting’s police force.

We began at the start of the pandemic when we switched to online play. So our game was underway when all the protests began.

The Bluecoats, per the setting, are notoriously corrupt, as is just about every institution in the city. The exception to that is the Imperial Inspectors (think of them as like the FBI). They’re famous for being incorruptible.

So one PC was an Inspector. Three other players played Bluecoats assigned to assist the Inspector. Two players made what we’d all classify as “good cops” and the third made a “bad cop”. We decided that the Inspector had gone out of his way to find and recruit two non-crooked Bluecoats to help with his Imperial Mandate. The third Bluecoat was assigned by the City Council to keep an eye on the investigation.

It was a bit odd at times playing a police game while all this was going on. But in a way it was also kind of...therapeutic? I don’t know....maybe that’s too strong a word, but it’s what comes to mind.

Through the game, we got to examine ideas of what it takes to be a good cop and how systems can be broken and what that means for those who have to deal with them.

I’m sure that for some other folks, some of the elements of the game may have hit a little too close to home, but I think it was probably a good and healthy way to process some of the feelings and ideas we were all having about related real world events.

 

[aramis erak]

I was a little unnerved by the Monarchies of Mau CRB sample adventure being strongly about racism. And ran it about a month ago. Made it hard for me to see where to go. And even

 

[Haffrung]

It is also false to assert policing is unfixable. When somebody has an effective honest police force, rejoice with them - and point to that force as a model to emulate.

I doubt you'll find a police force in the world that hasn't been involved in the questionable killing of a suspect. Humans being fallible and all. We shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. When it comes to violence, corruption, and training, I'd prefer Canadian police to 95 per cent of the police forces in the world.

 

[MGibster]

I've dropped games because of real world conditions that mirrored the non-modern game. Alien was just too close to home for the pandemic.
I won't run any election based scenarios in Stargate for at least a couple months.

I purchased Alien either late 2019 or very early in 2020 but I have yet to actually play it. The introductory mini-campaign I was working on involved the release of a modified Black Goo and a space station on lock down. I don't know if I just happened to subconsciously pick up on it, but the station would be owned by the Union of Progressive People and named after a Chinese city.

We're looking for a game right now, so I might go ahead and pitch it to my players anyway.