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Old 11-04-2017, 07:59 PM   #21
Stormcrow
 
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
If it isn't a comedy it is awful.
Does my classifying it change whether you like it? "I like it." "It's not a comedy." "I hate it."

(It's not a comedy. It's drama with a bit of humanizing humor. The first episode was sort of trying to be comedy. Past the first episode, it's obviously not comedy.)

A comedy game doesn't need a "comedy mechanic" to be funny. The first edition of Paranoia had fairly serious rules, but it was set in a comedic (sort of) universe. Ghostbusters had silly ideas in it, but the rules themselves weren't funny, and they eventually became the popular D6 system. So whether The Orville is comedy or not doesn't necessarily inform how funny the rules should be.

So you could use fully detailed GURPS for this and it would work just fine. Just play Star Trek but act like working joes and not post-scarcity self-betterers and you've got it. Or you could use something quick and simple. It doesn't really matter.
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Old 11-04-2017, 08:10 PM   #22
sir_pudding
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

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Does my classifying it change whether you like it? "I like it." "It's not a comedy." "I hate it."
If I was inclined to believe you, then yes, because I would be horrified instead. Offering to eat a suborbinate's child, all the on duty drinking and drugs, "Reality TV?" "Our greatest exhibit."... I don't think that I am supposed to be taking this seriously.

Quote:
(It's not a comedy. It's drama with a bit of humanizing humor. The first episode was sort of trying to be comedy. Past the first episode, it's obviously not comedy.)
No, I am about halfway through now and it definitely is comedy. I guess you probably don't think that M*A*S*H or Scrubs were comedies? I do.
Quote:
A comedy game doesn't need a "comedy mechanic" to be funny. The first edition of Paranoia had fairly serious rules, but it was set in a comedic (sort of) universe. Ghostbusters had silly ideas in it, but the rules themselves weren't funny, and they eventually became the popular D6 system. So whether The Orville is comedy or not doesn't necessarily inform how funny the rules should be.
What comedy mechanic? It's a one page game, it basically only has the one mechanic.

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Old 11-04-2017, 08:35 PM   #23
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

Comedy or not, the tone is not hard SF at a level where a detailed, rules-heavy system makes sense. So far, sensors, drives, etc. work at the speed and difficulty of plot. The characters have broadly defined skills and are put into situations for which they have no specific training or experience. That suggests something that's flexible and probably has a hero point mechanic to simulate the ups and downs of luck.

I'm still thinking Fate Core. GURPS Lite maybe.
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Old 11-05-2017, 06:54 AM   #24
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

Something can be drama without you having to take it seriously. Drama can have humor and remain drama. You're not supposed to walk away from The Orville saying "Har,har, that was funny!" You're supposed to say "Hmm, think about that." If they do something silly in the middle doesn't change that.
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Old 11-05-2017, 07:00 AM   #25
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

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Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
...
What humor mechanic?
Post #7 in this thread, from a couple of weeks ago:
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Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
As the question is about The Orville instead of any other particular sci-fi show, you might have to consider whether to use some kind of "humour mechanic."

Not sure how that'd work exactly, but perhaps progress in your mission depends on how many puns, one-liners, quips and jokey banter you can pull off along the way.
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Old 11-05-2017, 07:28 AM   #26
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

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Originally Posted by robkelk View Post
Post #7 in this thread, from a couple of weeks ago:
Why bring it up again in post #19?
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Old 11-07-2017, 08:05 AM   #27
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

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If it isn't a comedy it is awful. I am finding it at least entertaining, though. I am pretty sure the punchlines make it a comedy.
the creator doesn't think of it as a comedy. He's said so in several interviews.
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Old 11-07-2017, 08:28 AM   #28
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Default Re: "Orville" the role playing game - which rules system?

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Originally Posted by ak_aramis View Post
the creator doesn't think of it as a comedy. He's said so in several interviews.
Really? He seems to refer to it as comedy (although with drama) a few times in the first interview I Googled:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai.../#388bb7a25357

"The tone is the tone. It’s a sitcom. With an hour, there’s an obligation to tell a real story with some surprising twists, and a lot of times that means servicing the drama."
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