Poll: Game Idea Interest Thread (You choose) - CLOSED

[hiei82]

Since Raynoson and Asclepion have done something similar recently, and I've been having the same problem with choosing which idea to pursue, I thought "Why not do the same?"

Let me know which idea you think is best in the poll (and please give reasons/suggestions/opinions/ideas below) The ideas are as follows:

[HEADING=2]1) Shadowrun: Limit of Infinity (take 2)[/HEADING]
Shadowrun takes place several decades in the future were cyberpunk and fantasy co-exist. Old forms of magic have re-emerged. Megacorporations control the lives of their employees and command their own armies. Technology advances make cyberware (mechanical replacement body parts) and bioware (augmented vat-grown body parts implanted in place of natural organs) common. The Computer Crash of 2029 led to the creation of the Matrix, a worldwide computer network that users interact with via direct neural interface. When conflicts arise, corporations, governments, organized crime syndicates, and even wealthy individuals subcontract their dirty work to specialists, who then perform "shadowruns" or missions undertaken by deniable assets without identities or those that wish to remain unknown.

It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and noir, with elements of conspiracy fiction, horror and detective fiction.

It would be a relaunch of this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/540.376903-Limit-of-Infinity-A-Shadowrun-RP-Game-thread] game, but with fewer people so it wouldn't get crazy out of hand like last time.

[HEADING=2]2) Eclipse Phase: The Babylon Initiative[/HEADING]
After centuries of progress and advancement, humanity - having conquered their solar system, disease, nature, and death - stood on the precipice of greatness. They could uplift the animals around them, digitize their minds, create new bodies for themselves, terraform entire worlds, and even perform acts of alchemy thanks to the power of their collective intelligence. It was from this precipice that they could see out into the universe and bask in their greatness. It was from this precipice that they could control and dominate the world around them to suit their needs. It was from this precipice they fell, crashing into the ground, as their civilization was destroyed from within.

In this game, you are survivors of the apocalypse, fighting to prevent its cause - the TITANs - from returning to finish what they started: the extinction of all humanity.

Your mind is software. Program it.
Your body is a shell. Change it.
Death is a disease. Cure it.
Extinction is approaching. Fight it.​

[HEADING=2]3)7th Sea[/HEADING]
7th Sea is an old Roleplaying game, set in a fantasy Renaissance europe-like land. Many nations exist, each with there own swordsmanship styles, magics, relations to other nations, and histories. Its a land of swashbuckling action, war, romance, danger, and powerful magic with dire consequences.

As a quick primer, the nations (and a quick description) are listed here:

Avalon --> King Arther's England, Scotland, and Ireland
Castile --> Spain under the Inquisition with the greatest swordsmen the world has ever seen
Cathay --> Imperial China cut off from the world by a wall of fire
Eisen --> Germanic States with the most powerful weapons
Empire of the Crescent Moon --> The Ottoman Empire, the empire that coffee built
Montaigne --> Pre-Revolution France, ruled by a mad king who can tear holes in the universe
Ussura --> Russia under the protection of a living god, and ruled by Ivan the Terrible
Vestenmanavenjar --> Viking nordic lands in a civil war between the Warrior caste the the Merchant caste
Voddacce --> Italy controlled by Merchant Princes, where secrets are the best currency

This game will be a little different from most games as I'm going to build the plot of the game around the characters (rather then the reverse). That way, characters are only limited by the world and every character will feel connected to the plot more directly.

[HEADING=2]Special[/HEADING]

I'm also looking for a potential Co-GM to help streamline the chosen game. The Co-GM will be given (in confidence) the plot details I have in mind for the chosen game, have creative liberty to help make the game there own, and will not be disallowed from playing in the game as well. If you're interested, please PM me or post below quoting me to express the interest. If you're only interested in Co-GMing a specific game, please make that clear in the PM/post.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

I wouldn't mind giving Limit of Infinity another go Hiei; I would probably give the whole Ninja character another go, with some small changes of course, seeing as how I have my previous character lined up for something else.

 

[hiei82]

Both Shadow Run and Eclipse look like they have a lot of potential.

Shadow run is something I?ve been interested in before and with a much smaller player base it could be something I?m more able to commit to than when I?d tried before.

Eclipse also looks interesting but I don?t know enough to have a real opinion. Is it a pre-existing world? Or something you came up with? Either way it would be fun to learn more about.

So for now, I wait for my vote.

They are all pre-existing worlds from Table-Top RPG's I enjoy (be happy I didn't include a Pathfinder game in this lot ^_^)

Shadowrun: http://shadowrun.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
Eclipse Phase: http://eclipse-phase.wikispaces.com/
7th Sea: http://7thsea.wikia.com/wiki/7th_Sea_Wiki (sadly has almost no information and no one is working on it)

I'll be happy to answer any questions you (or anyone else) has on the worlds.

 

[Asclepion]

Eclipse Phase is highly recommended. The game comes in digital pdf, is totally free (you can choose to donate), and deals with post-singularity transhumanity in a really, really good way.

So I vote there. But if you redo Shadowrun, we could see the Return of Taylor.

I could co-gm either. I don't have experience with 7th Sea, or the swashbuckling genre in general.

I think dolphin is a pretty cool guy. eh mates for pleasure and doesnt afraid of anything.

 

[hiei82]

Thanks for the links it looks like I?ll have to book in a lot of time someday to make my choice.

Any reason you didn?t go with pathfinder? A nice dwarfs and elves fantasy could be fun. Complex worlds are great but sometimes it?s also fun to just have a simple setting and go fight a dragon or something.

To be honest whatever you do I?ll probably give a look, as long as the system is open enough for me to make a completely nuts character.

Depending on when this kicks off I might even try a bit of co-GMing is you need someone and are ok with a lack of experience. (Thought is Sands actually get's going I may have more skill by then.)

The reason I didn't go with pathfinder is that all the game ideas I could come up with weren't as good as the ones sitting on my RPG shelf (Rise of the Runelords, Jade Regent, Carrion Crown, Shattered Star, Skull & Shackles, etc) made by Paizo (the people who made the pathfinder game). Since I can't use those games on the Escapist without breaking copyright law, and I can't do something as fun as that by myself, I decided to ignore it.

Side note: Pathfinder is a far more complex world than any of the above ( http://www.pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Pathfinder_Wiki )

I'm okay with an inexperienced Co-GM; I just need help keeping the game going - particularly at the start when games tend to have 10 posts an hour.

 

[Asclepion]

The reason I didn't go with pathfinder is that all the game ideas I could come up with weren't as good as the ones sitting on my RPG shelf (Rise of the Runelords, Jade Regent, Carrion Crown, Shattered Star, Skull & Shackles, etc) made by Paizo (the people who made the pathfinder game). Since I can't use those games on the Escapist without breaking copyright law, and I can't do something as fun as that by myself, I decided to ignore it.

That doesn't make any sense. You aren't making money by doing this, and roleplaying games usually have licenses for that sort of thing.

 

[hiei82]

The reason I didn't go with pathfinder is that all the game ideas I could come up with weren't as good as the ones sitting on my RPG shelf (Rise of the Runelords, Jade Regent, Carrion Crown, Shattered Star, Skull & Shackles, etc) made by Paizo (the people who made the pathfinder game). Since I can't use those games on the Escapist without breaking copyright law, and I can't do something as fun as that by myself, I decided to ignore it.

That doesn't make any sense. You aren't making money by doing this, and roleplaying games usually have licenses for that kind of thing.

The difference is I'd be using the game online, where others can copy it. While I could run a game of Pathfinder here using the rules (which are covered under the Open-Game license), I can't just copy and paste the story on an open forum. I suppose I could use it on a private forum like Obsidian Portal (if I paid them money), but otherwise I'd arguably risk infringement. I think it falls under the reproduction clause of copyright law but then I don't know copyright law well enough.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Voted for Eclipse Phase because I got a hankering for some post-apocalyptic, sci-fi adventures if you know what I mean.

 

[Ruedyn]

Eclipse phase, because post-apocalypse is my favorite apocalypse time.

I also volunteer for Co-GMing. Vote for meeeeee.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Well, I'm kind of busy (hardcore gw2 ftw), but I could be co-GM to return the favour. I actually had some ideas for something that seems similar to eclipse phase, just never got around to putting them all together into something coherent. I don't know if they'd work with that one though, since this is the first time I've heard about it.

 

[hiei82]

Voted for Eclipse Phase because I got a hankering for some post-apocalyptic, sci-fi adventures if you know what I mean.

Eclipse phase, because post-apocalypse is my favorite apocalypse time.

I also volunteer for Co-GMing. Vote for meeeeee.

Well, I'm kind of busy (hardcore gw2 ftw), but I could be co-GM to return the favour. I actually had some ideas for something that seems similar to eclipse phase, just never got around to putting them all together into something coherent. I don't know if they'd work with that one though, since this is the first time I've heard about it.

Just so we're clear here: It may be post-apocalyptic, but it's hardly a typical post-apocalypse world. Earth is a mess and the human population dropped from nearly 20 billion to 500 million over the course of a week, but people are living in space-stations, you're still effectively-immortal, you have all of human knowledge at your disposal, and jumping from one planet to another is still done regularly. You just can't live on earth and you probably dislike A.I. ... a lot.

I just mean to say it's less Fallout 3, more (post-reaper) Mass Effect.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Voted for Eclipse Phase because I got a hankering for some post-apocalyptic, sci-fi adventures if you know what I mean.

Eclipse phase, because post-apocalypse is my favorite apocalypse time.

I also volunteer for Co-GMing. Vote for meeeeee.

Well, I'm kind of busy (hardcore gw2 ftw), but I could be co-GM to return the favour. I actually had some ideas for something that seems similar to eclipse phase, just never got around to putting them all together into something coherent. I don't know if they'd work with that one though, since this is the first time I've heard about it.

Just so we're clear here: It may be post-apocalyptic, but it's hardly a typical post-apocalypse world. Earth is a mess and the human population dropped from nearly 20 billion to 500 million over the course of a week, but people are living in space-stations, you're still effectively-immortal, you have all of human knowledge at your disposal, and jumping from one planet to another is still done regularly. You just can't live on earth and you probably dislike A.I. ... a lot.

I just mean to say it's less Fallout 3, more (post-reaper) Mass Effect.

That works better for the ideas that I had anyway, than a setting similar to fallout. I don't know about the immortality though. I suppose it depends on the story you have in mind.

 

[hiei82]

That works better for the ideas that I had anyway, than a setting similar to fallout. I don't know about the immortality though. I suppose it depends on the story you have in mind.

In the world of Eclipse Phase, humans figured out how to digitize their minds shortly before the Fall or Earth. Because they can "backup" their minds on external servers, most of the remaining transhumans (humans, uplifts, and A.I.s) cannot die permanently. Effectively, death is a temporary condition so long as you have an up-to-date backup (and assuming the servers your backup exist on are still functioning).

The story I have in mind has the players working for Firewall - an organization dedicated to protecting what's left of humanity from existential risks. There will be travel via Stargate Pandora Gate [http://eclipse-phase.wikispaces.com/Pandora+Gates] involved. I won't say any more then that for now - at least until the game (theoretically) begins; though I'll be more then happy to give you the details on Firewall if you'd like. I actually have the signup threads for each game ready to go, so it's not too hard to send bits and pieces.

 

[Asclepion]

Voted for Eclipse Phase because I got a hankering for some post-apocalyptic, sci-fi adventures if you know what I mean.

Eclipse phase, because post-apocalypse is my favorite apocalypse time.

I also volunteer for Co-GMing. Vote for meeeeee.

Well, I'm kind of busy (hardcore gw2 ftw), but I could be co-GM to return the favour. I actually had some ideas for something that seems similar to eclipse phase, just never got around to putting them all together into something coherent. I don't know if they'd work with that one though, since this is the first time I've heard about it.

Just so we're clear here: It may be post-apocalyptic, but it's hardly a typical post-apocalypse world. Earth is a mess and the human population dropped from nearly 20 billion to 500 million over the course of a week, but people are living in space-stations, you're still effectively-immortal, you have all of human knowledge at your disposal, and jumping from one planet to another is still done regularly. You just can't live on earth and you probably dislike A.I. ... a lot.

I just mean to say it's less Fallout 3, more (post-reaper) Mass Effect.

That works better for the ideas that I had anyway, than a setting similar to fallout. I don't know about the immortality though. I suppose it depends on the story you have in mind.

Mass Effect doesn't do the weird shit Eclipse Phase does.

There's all kinds of sentient animals (avians, dolphins, apes, octopi, etc), genetically altered humans to be superintelligent or have opposable feet to grip the floor in low gravity, resleeving everything from combat synthetic bodies to pleasure bodies with heightened skin sensitivity, and splitting your consciousness between multiple bodies.

And then there's the Exsurgent Virus. The exsurgent virus has many forms. One form is a software computer virus that subverts digital intelligences. Another form is a biological virus that takes over living creatures. Yet another form is basically grey goo nanotech that attacks robots and other synthetic life. And yet another form is memetic, where a particular set of sensations takes over minds. One form leads to another, e.g. a canon example starts as a memetic version (basically a video) that gives the viewer an overwhelming urge to manufacture a nanoswarm hive that makes nanomachines that turn humans into exsurgents which continue the spread. The virus converts them into sleeper agents and in many cases enhances their intelligence to make them more difficult to detect. One ability that the virus grants to infected biologicals is psionic powers, including gravity manipulation, mindreading, etc. (explained as superscience encoded into the virus) The virus has many strains and evolves over time.

The creators of the exsurgent virus know that the civilizations they are attacking have functional immortality. Killing someone or something merely means them restoring to a backed up version of themselves somewhere. The only way to cause real damage is to destroy the enemy psyches. Physical damage in Eclipse Phase is easy to fix (just resleeve in another body), while mental damage is much more difficult and dangerous to repair. The initial massive exsurgent virus attack on Eclipse Phase humanity (The Fall) nearly wiped them out.

 

[hiei82]

Voted for Eclipse Phase because I got a hankering for some post-apocalyptic, sci-fi adventures if you know what I mean.

Eclipse phase, because post-apocalypse is my favorite apocalypse time.

I also volunteer for Co-GMing. Vote for meeeeee.

Well, I'm kind of busy (hardcore gw2 ftw), but I could be co-GM to return the favour. I actually had some ideas for something that seems similar to eclipse phase, just never got around to putting them all together into something coherent. I don't know if they'd work with that one though, since this is the first time I've heard about it.

Just so we're clear here: It may be post-apocalyptic, but it's hardly a typical post-apocalypse world. Earth is a mess and the human population dropped from nearly 20 billion to 500 million over the course of a week, but people are living in space-stations, you're still effectively-immortal, you have all of human knowledge at your disposal, and jumping from one planet to another is still done regularly. You just can't live on earth and you probably dislike A.I. ... a lot.

I just mean to say it's less Fallout 3, more (post-reaper) Mass Effect.

That works better for the ideas that I had anyway, than a setting similar to fallout. I don't know about the immortality though. I suppose it depends on the story you have in mind.

Mass Effect doesn't do the weird shit Eclipse Phase does.

There's all kinds of sentient animals (avians, dolphins, apes, octopi, etc), genetically altered humans to be superintelligent or have opposable feet to grip the floor in low gravity, resleeving everything from combat synthetic bodies to pleasure bodies with heightened skin sensitivity, and splitting your consciousness between multiple bodies.

And then there's the Exsurgent Virus. The exsurgent virus has many forms. One form is a software computer virus that subverts digital intelligences. Another form is a biological virus that takes over living creatures. Yet another form is basically grey goo nanotech that attacks robots and other synthetic life. And yet another form is memetic, where a particular set of sensations takes over minds. One form leads to another, e.g. a canon example starts as a memetic version (basically a video) that gives the viewer an overwhelming urge to manufacture a nanoswarm hive that makes nanomachines that turn humans into exsurgents which continue the spread. The virus converts them into sleeper agents and in many cases enhances their intelligence to make them more difficult to detect. One ability that the virus grants to infected biologicals is psionic powers, including gravity manipulation, mindreading, etc. (explained as superscience encoded into the virus) The virus has many strains and evolves over time.

The creators of the exsurgent virus know that the civilizations they are attacking have functional immortality. Killing someone or something merely means them restoring to a backed up version of themselves somewhere. The only way to cause real damage is to destroy the enemy psyches. Physical damage in Eclipse Phase is easy to fix (just resleeve in another body), while mental damage is much more difficult and dangerous to repair. The initial massive exsurgent virus attack on Eclipse Phase humanity (The Fall) nearly wiped them out.

Well, I see someone's become something of an expert on the universe since I mentioned it so long ago

I only gave the example of Mass Effect because it was more space-age then the normal post-apocalyptic setting. I suppose i could have said it was more like "The Culture", but then I don't know how many people (beside you) on this website who know of it.

Incidentally, the Watts-MacLoed stain of the Exsurgent Virus - which provides said psionic powers - can't be used to manipulate gravity, only the minds of Transhumans (yours and/or others) unless they have expanded the powers of Psi since the last book I bought.

 

[Doc Gnosis]

I'd be all for 7th Sea; should be interesting playing a swashbuckling adventure RPG. Especially looking forward to seeing fantastic things like facing monsters, being the center of intrigue between kingdoms, hunting for booty, glory, or sheer emotional gratification.

 

[hiei82]

Announcer: It's a close race at the end of the first day. The questions on everyone's minds: Can 7th Sea overtake Eclipse Phase? Will Eclipse Phase keep its early edge? Or, will Shadowrun make a comeback? Find out on the next exciting episode of...

[HEADING=2]Dragonball Z[/HEADING]

[HEADING=2]The Escapist Role-Playing Forum![/HEADING]​

p.s. Night all.

 

[Asclepion]

Well, I see someone's become something of an expert on the universe since I mentioned it so long ago

Right back at you.

I only gave the example of Mass Effect because it was more space-age then the normal post-apocalyptic setting. I suppose i could have said it was more like "The Culture", but then I don't know how many people (beside you) on this website who know of it.

Spoony described it as Transhumanism + Dead Space.

Alternatively, it's Ghost in the Shell with space age tech.

 

[hiei82]

Seeing as how there's been no change in this thread for almost 24 hours now, I guess I can call it.

Spoiler: And the winner is... *dramatic drum roll*

Eclipse Phase! (not that it was hard to guess given the poll ^_^)

To everyone else, just know this means that the other two projects are on the back-burner for now but will become games in the future (assuming I don't unexpectedly die or something)

Depending on when this kicks off I might even try a bit of co-GMing is you need someone and are ok with a lack of experience. (Thought is Sands actually get's going I may have more skill by then.)

I could co-gm either. I don't have experience with 7th Sea, or the swashbuckling genre in general.

I also volunteer for Co-GMing. Vote for meeeeee.

...but I could be co-GM to return the favour. I actually had some ideas for something that seems similar to eclipse phase, just never got around to putting them all together into something coherent. I don't know if they'd work with that one though, since this is the first time I've heard about it.

Since all of you made the offer of Co-GMing (thank you very much by the way), I guess I need to trim down the number of people. If any of you offered to get ensure the game would start and would rather just play the game without Co-GMing (or weren't interested in Eclipse Phase) let me know either here or via PM. Otherwise... um... I guess... uh... er... *dances awkwardly to break the tension*. I honestly didn't expect that more then one person would be crazy awesome enough to volunteer for Co-GM.

If there is something specific you want to try to do in the game (like Wenseph seems to) or have a reason you want to be Co-GM, either PM me (if it's a secret idea/reason) or post the ideas/reasons and I'll see if they can be worked easily into the game I have in mind. I guess I'll use these to figure out who to choose as Co-GM.

In any event, since all of you were kind enough to apply for Co-GM, I'll give any characters you make for the game priority - though not auto-acceptance - because I can be arbitrary and capricious toward people who agree to help me.

Thanks again! ^_^

 

[Ruedyn]

Seeing as how there's been no change in this thread for almost 24 hours now, I guess I can call it.

Spoiler: And the winner is... *dramatic drum roll*

Eclipse Phase! (not that it was hard to guess given the poll ^_^)

To everyone else, just know this means that the other two projects are on the back-burner for now but will become games in the future (assuming I don't unexpectedly die or something)

Depending on when this kicks off I might even try a bit of co-GMing is you need someone and are ok with a lack of experience. (Thought is Sands actually get's going I may have more skill by then.)

I could co-gm either. I don't have experience with 7th Sea, or the swashbuckling genre in general.

I also volunteer for Co-GMing. Vote for meeeeee.

...but I could be co-GM to return the favour. I actually had some ideas for something that seems similar to eclipse phase, just never got around to putting them all together into something coherent. I don't know if they'd work with that one though, since this is the first time I've heard about it.

Since all of you made the offer of Co-GMing (thank you very much by the way), I guess I need to trim down the number of people. If any of you offered to get ensure the game would start and would rather just play the game without Co-GMing (or weren't interested in Eclipse Phase) let me know either here or via PM. Otherwise... um... I guess... uh... er... *dances awkwardly to break the tension*. I honestly didn't expect that more then one person would be crazy awesome enough to volunteer for Co-GM.

If there is something specific you want to try to do in the game (like Wenseph seems to) or have a reason you want to be Co-GM, either PM me (if it's a secret idea/reason) or post the ideas/reasons and I'll see if they can be worked easily into the game I have in mind. I guess I'll use these to figure out who to choose as Co-GM.

In any event, since all of you were kind enough to apply for Co-GM, I'll give any characters you make for the game priority - though not auto-acceptance - because I can be arbitrary and capricious toward people who agree to help me.

Thanks again! ^_^

I drop out of the Co-GM thing. Any sort of power and I go mad with it.

Good to hear the one I voted for won.