Brand MU Day
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Groups
    • Login

    World Tone / Feeling

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Game Gab
    33 Posts 19 Posters 366 Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • bear_necessitiesB
      bear_necessities
      last edited by

      We’ve talked a lot about the MUSHes we’d like to see and such, but today I’m less curious about the game genre and more about the general tone of the game you want to play. At least, I hope tone is the right word for what I’m trying to convey here, words are hard. Anyway, wondering if you are you looking to play in a world that is grim/dark, one of scary horror or dystopian nightmare, something more romance based, or maybe something lighter, something that is hopeful or happy and positive? Something else entirely? Mostly interested in what people are in the mood to play lately.

      JennJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 4
      • JennJ
        Jenn @bear_necessities
        last edited by

        @bear_necessities

        Cooperative-style players are same team(s) against the environment. Some dirt and grit to the surrounding world itself, but the day to day stories are the normal, regular people just trying to figure it all out.

        I can work in almost any theme. I just want the write people to be co-writing about it with.

        We're all mad here.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • TezT
          Tez Administrators
          last edited by

          I prefer worlds where terrible things can and do happen, but they are worlds where the characters are the heroes saving the day. I like playing underdogs, and I like playing a light in the darkness. If the world is grim, it must not be unrelentingly so: I prefer worlds that change.

          A few of my friends ran private games that began in a pretty bad place. They were being run at a time where the fantasy of overthrowing the government and striking back against police brutality was very appealing. You might even say it would still appeal today. Bringing those dark worlds into something better was part of the fun.

          That said, I do not, absolutely do not, like worlds that are all happy all the time. It’s not for me. I need the texture of struggle and challenge. I’d rather a darker toned game so long as there are havens of light. I probably wouldn’t play on something that was all dark and all terrible all the time, but I’d last on it longer than one that was all happy.

          she/they

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 6
          • YamY
            Yam
            last edited by

            I’m far, far more interested in PVE than anything else. I try to avoid political games. I guess I like a bit of what Tez described? Hopepunk? The world is shitty but we’re trying anyway. Trying to stick to mood here… desperation. That team stuff that Jenn mentioned is pretty appealing. FRENSHIP. Nuanced development in characters. I guess this really depends on your players.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 6
            • PavelP
              Pavel
              last edited by Pavel

              It really depends on the day. If I’ve had a shit day, I probably want to play something light and fluffy. But if I’m in the mood for something deep and meaningful, I want something with a little edge. Something inspired by Raymond Chandler perhaps, or maybe Alan Moore. Something more ‘grit-dark’ than grim, there are elements in the world that just fuckin’ hate you in particular but also moments of levity and lightness to make the contrast all the more stark. Somewhere that trying can lead to rewards just as often as failures, rather than continually sucking forever.

              But alas so often people hear dark and they take that to mean violent and horrifying.

              ETA: I think this is the most lit-wanky thing I’ve ever written here.

              He/Him. Opinions and views are solely my own unless specifically stated otherwise.
              BE AN ADULT

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
              • AshkuriA
                Ashkuri
                last edited by

                The intersection of sad and funny is where I thrive.

                PavelP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 8
                • JennJ
                  Jenn @bear_necessities
                  last edited by

                  @bear_necessities

                  Oh. And. Uh…

                  Also…

                  The Appalachian-set Curseborne game I’m bullying y’all into building.

                  And probably the maybe possible potential of a what if the stories are all true reimagining.

                  We're all mad here.

                  MisterBoringM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • MisterBoringM
                    MisterBoring
                    last edited by

                    I’m pretty open to any sort of tone or feeling. My tonal issue is primarily that there inevitably will be people who seek to be so mechanically powerful in the ruleset used for the game that their character will almost always run against the grain of the tone and feeling for the game.

                    If the game is supposed to be about a community in a post apocalypse struggling together against the harsh reality of their blasted world, having someone come in like Tequila in Hard Boiled just because they noticed that they could build themselves a certain way and chose to do so.

                    This can be prevented in the chargen stage by staff doing a good review of the character (both background and sheet) to ensure they’re fitting the tone and feeling of a game. Often times, when such a character ends up in play it’s either because staff is so overwhelmed with tasks that they push characters through as long as they meet a basic set of criteria, or because the player in question has a relationship with a staffer that basically means they get pushed through regardless because for some people having their friends on a game is more important than having everybody follow the same tone and feeling with their character builds and concepts.

                    Proud Member of the Pro-Mummy Alliance

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • MisterBoringM
                      MisterBoring @Jenn
                      last edited by

                      @Jenn said in World Tone / Feeling:

                      The Appalachian-set Curseborne game I’m bullying y’all into building.

                      Curseborne? Where? a cartoon character holding a piggy bank with a dollar sign on it and the words i must have it

                      Proud Member of the Pro-Mummy Alliance

                      JennJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • JennJ
                        Jenn @MisterBoring
                        last edited by

                        @MisterBoring

                        LOL. I’m being such a bully about it that they still haven’t told me the IP because then I’m unstoppable.

                        But the lore/setting/theme-y stuff we’re workshopping on Discord while our coders figure out how they wanna put together sheets and assign splats is at least danged entertaining.

                        We're all mad here.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • PavelP
                          Pavel @Ashkuri
                          last edited by

                          @Ashkuri said in World Tone / Feeling:

                          The intersection of sad and funny is where I thrive.

                          I’ve made a career of it.

                          He/Him. Opinions and views are solely my own unless specifically stated otherwise.
                          BE AN ADULT

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • HobbieH
                            Hobbie
                            last edited by Hobbie

                            I’m less concerned about grid-level mood than with having the freedom and flexibility to run a scene that might fit whatever sort of tone I want to hit today. For example, on one grid on one character, I GMed:

                            • A tomb of zombies horror
                            • Mad Max desert rig chase
                            • High class well dressed casino heist
                            • Hacking a secure server (THAT was interesting to GM because you can’t write “and he typed on the keyboard” and be evocative)
                            • Run
                            • And a badly dubbed chop socky kung fu comedy

                            tl;dr I tend to chafe if the tone is too rigid, flexibility lets me be creative. If a grid is a canvas I prefer it unpainted.

                            MisterBoringM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • MisterBoringM
                              MisterBoring @Hobbie
                              last edited by

                              @Hobbie said in World Tone / Feeling:

                              I tend to chafe if the tone is too rigid, flexibility lets me be creative.

                              I agree with this. Rigid tone is stagnation. At the same time, too much flexibility and you lose the original intent of the game in the sauce. If I were to join a post apocalyptic game of community building and the struggle to survive, the sudden addition of a Dragonball Z style combat scene would be too jarring.

                              Proud Member of the Pro-Mummy Alliance

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                              • DrQuinnD
                                DrQuinn
                                last edited by

                                Honestly the world is on fire so much lately that I want something not so depressing when I try to disconnect from the news so I stay away from grimdark and horror, but pretty much would be looking for a game where the PCs would get to be heroes. Which is not to say they win all the time hooray, but more like a place where the PCs could work towards the greater good without getting smacked down for trying.

                                I’d be down for a good supernatural cowboy game. Where you can shoot a werewolf or a ghost or something and then go to a rodeo or watch a bar fist fight. Something fun!

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 7
                                • O
                                  Ominous
                                  last edited by Ominous

                                  The grim/noble dark/bright alignment system might be helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/s/bB0gvqrwjL

                                  I am firmly on the Noble side of settings. I am down for anything on the Bright-Dark setting with slight leaning towards Bright, but I don’t have Grim in me anymore. As @DrQuinn said, if I want Grim I’ll look at the damned window, and I’ve been in that state for about a decade now.

                                  EDIT: After thinking about it more, I’m going to take it back. I’m down for anything but Grimdark. I’ll take Grimbright. Arx felt Grimbright to me.

                                  Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam

                                  PrototartP RozR bear_necessitiesB TezT 4 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 5
                                  • PrototartP
                                    Prototart @Ominous
                                    last edited by

                                    My white whale is and will probably always be an at least canon-adjacent superhero game that is relatively light and acknowledges the genre was built on sex

                                    bear_necessitiesB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • RozR
                                      Roz @Ominous
                                      last edited by

                                      @Ominous said in World Tone / Feeling:

                                      The grim/noble dark/bright alignment system might be helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/s/bB0gvqrwjL

                                      I feel like Nobledark and Grimbright are my favorite sandboxes to play in.

                                      she/her | playlist

                                      D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                                      • C
                                        catzilla
                                        last edited by

                                        a man in a striped shirt is sitting at a desk with a piece of paper in his hand

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • D
                                          dvoraen @Roz
                                          last edited by

                                          @Roz said in World Tone / Feeling:

                                          @Ominous said in World Tone / Feeling:

                                          The grim/noble dark/bright alignment system might be helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/s/bB0gvqrwjL

                                          I feel like Nobledark and Grimbright are my favorite sandboxes to play in.

                                          a man says you and me both in front of a poster

                                          I think Arx corrupted me. 🤔

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • L. B. HeuschkelL
                                            L. B. Heuschkel
                                            last edited by

                                            I need a mix. Depending on my mood and fatigue levels, I may want grimdark horror one day and vanilla slice of life the next day. My preference goes to settings that can accommodate most moods.

                                            Any pronouns. Come to Chincoteague. We have ponies. http://keys.aresmush.com

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                            • First post
                                              Last post