As storytellers, we’re always on the lookout for more fodder for building fantasy worlds. One of the best sources is the evening news or your Yahoo or Google homepage.
I’m talking current events.
In a game like Escaping Reality, when the period is modern day, plenty of events are happening in the news, and these can add depth to your game and your characters. Whether it’s a natural disaster, political scandal, or a local murder mystery, you can take these events and work them into your game.
Maybe your setting is in California – so how did the wildfires there affect your local residents in game? If you want to get even more detailed, maybe one of your characters was from California and the fires affected his home and family.
Other events, like political scandal, could have a darker, twisted agenda. Why was that senator killed? It sure looked odd on the surface. Dig a little deeper and let your mind go wild. Maybe one of the local (or even national) Kindred groups had their eyes on a bigger, more far-reaching goal? Killing that senator because he knew too much and he’s in the way is a good start for an excellent plot.
To take this a step further, dig out old history books or watch a few hours of The History Channel. Watch Discovery too, for that matter. Has an ancient relic just been discovered deep in the Holy Land? What if that artifact was cursed or had some other supernatural significance?
Once you start thinking that the world is indeed your oyster, sources for materials and plot ideas go much further than the collection of gaming books on your shelf.
So when is it okay to back away from what is happening in the “real world”? I would think that it’s okay for us to make things up, like Selene’s father being killed – I don’t recall any major Senator killings lately. Or even the daily weather… I would assume you didn’t look back to the weather for that specific spot on that specific day and time to see if it was raining or not.
So are we allowed to pick and choose when we follow what is happening in the real world? Or should we just integrate the really huge, very-difficult-to-ignore events, like the election or if there was a wildfire in the general area of Reckon?
Allison’s last blog post..Carburetor
When it comes to your character, you can pick and choose as long as it doesn’t affect anyone else but you. Larger events are best left to the STs (unless it’s something like an election that would affect everyone regardless). Using the example of a fire, that would be an ST call because it hasn’t happened, but it could if we decided it had value to a plotline.
Things like the weather are also left up to the STs starting a particular scene or new day. Other things, like the moon phase, we can track and everyone would know what that was.
Make sense?
Oh I like that. I keep forgetting about “real life” things that could be going on that our characters may hear about or be affected by. I’m reminded once in awhile (particularly by you Harry) when some character references a movie or a book. Pretty sure Jake’s done that several ties already. Makes me wonder a bit actually, because he doesn’t seem the movie-watching sort that his writer obviously is. (I could be wrong! I just haven’t seen that side of hi yet.)
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He does watch movies a lot – at home. It’s one of those things I think of as mundane since I’m not going to write a scene about him sitting there watching TV unless I had a reason for it.
Jake won’t reference books, but movies, yeah, they’re on TV and very accessible.
Ah, I see. Well in that case, I’ll probably be asking you most of the time. Which I do anyways.
Allison’s last blog post..Carburetor
hehehee, that darn Senator. I was careful to NOT say where he was from in case the ST’s wanted to do something with that or not depending on what they have cooking out there in the world. Of course I have no idea if there is a major vampire organization out there somewhere….LOL. I like leaving things open-ended, its more fun.
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I see Harry’s post differently. I don’t see it as using current events in a game and running the game parallel to real life – such as a fire in real life happening and progressing at the same moment in game.
I see it as meaning that if I’m watching the news, and there’s a bombing somewhere, then I might use that in my character’s history or the events that shaped his life.
I would take that bombing, create a little story about how the kid next door played with kitchen-sink chemicals, exploded the house, the blast caught my character, and now he’s afraid of loud sudden noises and fire.
Oh James. Dear, dear James. When I finally think I actually know what’s going on, you always manage to throw a wrench in things.
Now, I’m confused. Incredibly so.
Harry? Help?
Allison’s last blog post..Carburetor
@Allison: James is saying that you can use past news events to shape the background of your character. Take a look back to the year your character was born and do a search on events happening from that time until now, either world wide, or in the place they grew up.
@Harry – Okay… I think what was throwing me is that it sounded like he was saying take an event that happened today, then stick it in your character’s past. What he’s really saying, is for us to be inspired by current/past events, to help shape our character?
So… thinking about something like the election… or movies/books that are coming out, or other general things that everyone could easily know about… are we still allowed to use those sort of things? Or are we supposed to detach from real-world happenings entirely?
Allison’s last blog post..Carburetor
@Allison: You can still use those things as they affect the population at large. It’s the huge events that happen on a local level (like a wildfire in Reckon) that would be a call the STs would make.
Harry – Ah, very cool. It all makes sense now. Thanks for the clarification!
Allison’s last blog post..Carburetor
@Allison: You’re welcome!