Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Noir Games?
I'm reading a book about the origins of film noir right now, and it got me to thinking two things. One, are there any Noir games out there? and Two, how would I approach a Noir game? If you know anything about the first, shout out. As for the second...
One of the cool things about Noir is how incredibly tightly the genre is bounded (aesthetically, technically, narratively) without creating cookie-cutter stories and characters. I can see a Noir game as a GM-less setup, probably for 2-4 players. There's a cast of main characters (the femme fatale, the antihero/protagonist, the unabashed criminal, the representative of the law) which are further defined in the beginning process. They are all co-owned, in that different people can play them in different scenes, but I think it would be worth it for each player to have final say over...something..for one character, mainly because of buy-in issues.
The characters move up and down on different scales, representing emotional connexion/distance to each other, as well as having a progressive measure for the macguffin (the big score, the discovery of the truth about the girl, whatever). I can definitely see a lot of Karma resolution here, with tight resources and consequences for the slighest screw-up.
To be really Noir, it also has MLWM-esque endgame conditions, but with pretty tight pre-determined events (getting gunned down, suicide and the like for the anti-hero, being betrayed and brought in, getting away with it, and the like for the femme fatale, etc). I'd have to watch more noir to really get this right.
This would also be a good scenario for my thoughts on 1-on-1 adversity, and maybe worth being the "default" for that kind of game.
One of the cool things about Noir is how incredibly tightly the genre is bounded (aesthetically, technically, narratively) without creating cookie-cutter stories and characters. I can see a Noir game as a GM-less setup, probably for 2-4 players. There's a cast of main characters (the femme fatale, the antihero/protagonist, the unabashed criminal, the representative of the law) which are further defined in the beginning process. They are all co-owned, in that different people can play them in different scenes, but I think it would be worth it for each player to have final say over...something..for one character, mainly because of buy-in issues.
The characters move up and down on different scales, representing emotional connexion/distance to each other, as well as having a progressive measure for the macguffin (the big score, the discovery of the truth about the girl, whatever). I can definitely see a lot of Karma resolution here, with tight resources and consequences for the slighest screw-up.
To be really Noir, it also has MLWM-esque endgame conditions, but with pretty tight pre-determined events (getting gunned down, suicide and the like for the anti-hero, being betrayed and brought in, getting away with it, and the like for the femme fatale, etc). I'd have to watch more noir to really get this right.
This would also be a good scenario for my thoughts on 1-on-1 adversity, and maybe worth being the "default" for that kind of game.
// posted by Nathan P. @ 1/18/2006 02:53:00 PM 
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People are working on this. I know Emily Care Boss is for sure, IIRC a "many GM, 1 player" deal, and Clinton Nixon has talked about some similar jazz.
# posted by 
: 2/03/2006 1:18 PM
: 2/03/2006 1:18 PM
God I love Noir! It's such a great genre of Film, and I really wish the ideas behind it were explored more fully in other genres (RPG's would be especially rockin').
Oddly enough, I was thinking about Film Noirish type stuff the other day as well (though, admittedly in the context of theater). I just love the classic image of the suspect and the cop sitting in a dimly lit room with a fan slowly turning overhead. Translating that scene to stage would be the challenge.
Mayhaps.
-Kyle
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Oddly enough, I was thinking about Film Noirish type stuff the other day as well (though, admittedly in the context of theater). I just love the classic image of the suspect and the cop sitting in a dimly lit room with a fan slowly turning overhead. Translating that scene to stage would be the challenge.
Mayhaps.
-Kyle
# posted by : 3/14/2006 12:03 AM
: 3/14/2006 12:03 AM << Home
