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08:18, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Near Future Black Box game.

Posted by Tortuga
Tortuga
member, 1588 posts
Mon 16 Nov 2015
at 02:00
  • msg #1

Near Future Black Box game

I'd like to run one of two games:

1. The Missing: The players are all normal folks who went missing in 2015. They find themselves in 2026, with no memory of the past decade, and seemingly no records of what they've been up to save for a few new scars. They must unravel the secret of their forgotten pasts or face the consequences when it catches up to them.

2. Beta-Testers: The players are beta-testing a new form of immersive virtual reality, one that's almost indistinguishable from "real" reality. This framework is essentially an excuse for an anthology genre-hopping game with a bit of RPG meta-commentary.

In both cases, the RPG mechanics will be kept more or less hidden from the players in everything but the most abstract. It will not be free-form.
Silverfoxdmt73
member, 292 posts
Long time gamer
Mon 16 Nov 2015
at 16:02
  • msg #2

Near Future Black Box game

Either idea sounds like it could be interesting.

I've not read the novels myself, but the Dream Park RPG might be worth a read for #2. (If you've not already read it.)
Tortuga
member, 1589 posts
Mon 16 Nov 2015
at 16:05
  • msg #3

Near Future Black Box game

The Dream Park novels are great. Read them if you get the chance. I have the Dream Park RPG, but I'm not super into it. The mechanics are... well, they leave a lot to be desired.
Silverfoxdmt73
member, 293 posts
Long time gamer
Mon 16 Nov 2015
at 16:19
  • msg #4

Re: Near Future Black Box game

Tortuga:
The Dream Park novels are great. Read them if you get the chance.


I heard they were good too, I'll be looking out for them.

Tortuga:
I have the Dream Park RPG, but I'm not super into it. The mechanics are... well, they leave a lot to be desired.


Oh, I know the mechanics were very 'basic' at best. But the general idea behind the game itself was very interesting.

I'm sure you could come up with something mechanics wise using GURPS or Savage Worlds or something along those lines easily enough.
amybri18
member, 66 posts
Yeah, I'm a Narwhal!
Deal with it!
Mon 16 Nov 2015
at 18:09
  • msg #5

Re: Near Future Black Box game

Both sound interesting!
Tortuga
member, 1590 posts
Mon 16 Nov 2015
at 23:05
  • msg #6

Re: Near Future Black Box game

Yeah, I like both too, so anyone who can help me narrow it down a bit, that'd be helpful. :)
OakMaster
member, 50 posts
"Choose you this day
whom ye will serve..."
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 00:14
  • msg #7

Re: Near Future Black Box game

I choose... Door Number One!  :D
amybri18
member, 67 posts
Yeah, I'm a Narwhal!
Deal with it!
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 16:06
  • msg #8

Re: Near Future Black Box game

I say number 1 then :)
Silverfoxdmt73
member, 294 posts
Long time gamer
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 16:14
  • msg #9

Re: Near Future Black Box game

I'll put a third hand up for #1.
Nazid
member, 94 posts
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 18:51
  • msg #10

Re: Near Future Black Box game

Number 1 is interesting.

Number 2 could be fin if the assumption is that the characters entered the virtual world to play but discover that they can't get back out until they solve some mystery or something similar.
Blazeofglory
member, 78 posts
Part-Time Game Master
Badass Normal
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 18:53
  • msg #11

Re: Near Future Black Box game

I'd be up for playing Number 2 for sure.
Number 1 is a little "if"-ier.
Tortuga
member, 1591 posts
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 23:23
  • msg #12

Re: Near Future Black Box game

Idea 1, expanded a bit:

Ten years ago you disappeared. No one could find you. Not your friends. Not your family. Not the police. More than likely they searched for a while, but in the end they gave up, and moved on.

Such is life. Such is loss.

Then, on October 3, 2025, you popped up again, found unconscious with no memory of the past decade. You don't really remember what happened the day you went missing, but from your perspective one day it was 2015, the next it was 2025.

It's a real head-scratcher. The police couldn't figure it out. Neither could the hospital. But here you are, in a world you no longer recognize, ten years older than when you vanished. No friends, no family, no bank account, and a ten year gap in your work history.

The game is about change, adaptation, and survival.

What to expect:
A dark near-future game that extrapolates a decade's worth of cultural and technological development. It won't be a worst-case scenario, but a more cynical "nothing big happens to change the path we're on" take on the future.

It's about what it's like to be poor and desperate, and what you're willing to do to survive. It's about limits and how sometimes people compromise them.

We might call it cyberpunk, but we already live in a world with self-driving cars, military railguns, and smartphones that outstrip Gibson's most fevered nightmares. So. Post-cyberpunk.

Idea 2:

There is an overarching real-world plot in tandem with what goes on in the game. Corporate espionage, rival programs, government intervention, etc, but it's by and larger "lighter" than Idea 1.
Blazeofglory
member, 79 posts
Part-Time Game Master
Badass Normal
Tue 17 Nov 2015
at 23:35
  • msg #13

Re: Near Future Black Box game

With the VR concept, does anyone else imagine Hackers being either absolutely massive problems or positively epic teammates?
Because I do.
And I want it.
Tortuga
member, 1593 posts
Wed 18 Nov 2015
at 18:17
  • msg #14

Re: Near Future Black Box game

Going with Idea 1, saving 2 for a later date.

link to another game
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