What Video Games Franchises/IPs need a Tabletop RPG

[Reynard]

Grand Theft Auto.

What specific aspects of GTA would you want to see adapted, and what would that look like?

 

[sevenbastard]

Contra.

Before any game begins you just yell "up up down down left right left right B A Start" nothing the GM can do to stop that.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

Count me in for a Mass Effect ttrpg as well. It would be one of the few ways to get me to try a new system, since I struggle with getting into the groove of a different system/rule set. It took me a couple of years to get into 4e D&D from 3e/3.5, then into 5e afterwards, and I grew up with the franchise thanks to my father.

The Elder Scrolls would be another franchise like to see get an official ttrpg, and possibly Bloodborne as well.

 

[zarionofarabel]

What specific aspects of GTA would you want to see adapted, and what would that look like?

The entierty of it. Premise, setting, the whole shebang. Considering it's one of the most popular video game franchises of all time I'm kind of suprised that there hasn't been one yet.

Then again neither Cops nor Robbers seem to be particularly popular genres amongst TTRPGs despite how popular they seem to be in other media.

Not sure why TTRPGs seem to have an entire different popularity breakdown genre wise than other media. I understand the unusual fantasy dominance because of D&D's weird monopoly on the hobby, but outside of that there still seems to be a very different distribution of genre popularity than any other form of media.

Someone in academia should do a study on it honestly.

 

[Reynard]

The entierty of it. Premise, setting, the whole shebang. Considering it's one of the most popular video game franchises of all time I'm kind of suprised that there hasn't been one yet.

Right, but what does that look like? There are plenty of crime TTRPGs. How is GTA different? What would you do or want to see to emulate GTA on the tabletop?

 

[JConstantine]

BioShock: With its anti-capitalist, anti-tycoon themes, the time seems ripe given current events have spawned games with similar themes. I can't stand the Cypher system, personally, but an approach like its cyphers for emulating the serums seems appropriate.

Control: There's been a few knock-offs, like Triangle Agency and Chamber, but they don't really capture the game beyond its premise. Even better if it could do the broader Remedy Connected Universe.

Darksiders: This one might be a little restrictive in that you'd be playing one of the predefined Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but they can be treated like classes. System-wise, it would need to be something a bit over the top, with either class feats or talent trees. Something in the vein of Age of Sigmar: Soulbound.

Destiny: This might actually be pointless given the best thing about the Destiny games is the gunplay - sound design, recoil, etc makes them feel distinct, and that's going to be hard to capture in an RPG beyond gear-porn.

Divinity: (Already mentioned, but...) Yeah, it's yet another fantasy setting, but can we really have too many if it comes with a different system? (Yes. The answer is yes.)

The Elder Scrolls: It was born out of RuneQuest/BRP, but has far surpassed it in popularity, so it's time it came full circle. There's a fan-made one (we don't talk about the second, 5e-based one), but an official high-production one would be welcomed.

Legacy of Kain: Technically, there's one on the way, but it's a MÖRK BORG coattail rider and has you playing as the Sarafan Brotherhood. No fan of the series wants to play as the games' antagonists! Yes, technically, they added the option to play as vampires as a stretch goal, but only begrudgingly after being dogpiled by fans for their boneheaded decision. The series deserves better.

Secret World: You could probably kludge something together using WoD/CoD, WitchCraft or Sigil and Shadow, but it's own game would be nice.

 

[Tanek]

Secret World: You could probably kludge something together using WoD/CoD, WitchCraft or Sigil and Shadow, but it's own game would be nice.

Ask and ye shall receive. The Secret World

 

[hawkeyefan]

Darkest Dungeon cries out for an OSR treatment, probably a Mork Borg derivative that also included stress mechanics.

I mean… Torchbearer is about as close as you can get without it actually being a licensed game.

The entierty of it. Premise, setting, the whole shebang. Considering it's one of the most popular video game franchises of all time I'm kind of suprised that there hasn't been one yet.

Then again neither Cops nor Robbers seem to be particularly popular genres amongst TTRPGs despite how popular they seem to be in other media.

Not sure why TTRPGs seem to have an entire different popularity breakdown genre wise than other media. I understand the unusual fantasy dominance because of D&D's weird monopoly on the hobby, but outside of that there still seems to be a very different distribution of genre popularity than any other form of media.

Someone in academia should do a study on it honestly.

Honestly, I think this is a good idea to maybe see if a major licensed game would help break into other genres that don’t typically get attention in RPGs. I mean, there are a couple of games that are close… but none of them catch the same level of satire and gonzo action as the GTA games. It’d be cool to see someone try and translate that to the tabletop.

 

[bsss]

I have never played a FF game. What do you think would make a good TTRPG adaptation of the series?

My answer to this question is almost invoking an ouroboros. The first Final Fantasy game drew heavily from Dungeons & Dragons, but as the series progressed, it moved away from what I'd call a hard D&D influence and leaned more on plot and strong characters, almost as if it went through its own "neo-trad" evolution, generally as video games became more capable of cinematics and storytelling, owing to more storage and processing capabilities. As the series became more popular in the SNES era, fan Final Fantasy TTRPGs existed in the West (and I presume in Japan) since at least the early 2000s (I remember running one I printed off from the internet, but I scarcely remember the mechanics, other than maybe it was percentile based). More TTRPGs that evoke the Final Fantasy style, without being actual Final Fantasy licenses, are Anima, and more recently now Fabula Ultima.

 

[bsss]

On the subject of ouroboroses (ourobodes?), I will throw out there the idea of the Yakuza (aka Like A Dragon) series being a good TTRPG game. Featuring lots of dramatic tension and beating the hell out of anyone who would dare stand in your way, Kiryu and gang are exceptional PCs to an extreme --- capable of anything, often down but never out, fighting whole crime syndicates on their own, making quips and tearing off their shirts just to look cool... and then out of nowhere you get the table zanyness of absurd retinues and followers, such as a misunderstanding leading to obtaining a chicken that later helps run your business.

For bonus points, the series has also recently made the jump from action beat 'em up to turn-based RPG.