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FFG's Android Setting...What's Going On?

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07 Nov 2018 14:30 - 07 Nov 2018 14:34 #285510 by Mr. White
Despite having no games in this series, I've sort of admired from afar FFGs scrubbed and cleaned version of cyberpunk.

In a world with only the hybrid Shadowrun as tabletop cyberpunk option...what has prevented the Android setting from taking off? There was a risky, ambitious board game, a top-shelf CCG, even a world building book that is usually sort of necessary for new settings. Still...I get the sense there isn't anything happening here.

Maybe the other three board games (Infiltration, Mainframe, and New Angeles) are great. I don't know anyone that's played any of them. (Though I do see Mainframe going for about $20 shipped. Is it a fun abstract?)

I see how the Runewars universe was trying to blossom in a crowded field, and couldn't rise above, but the cyperpunk arena seems a bit more open.

So, what's happened here? Am I wrong and people are loving the universe?
Last edit: 07 Nov 2018 14:34 by Mr. White.
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07 Nov 2018 14:34 #285511 by Jackwraith
I like it, even though it is, as you say, a somewhat sanitized version of Gibson's Sprawl. I liked the ideas behind Android, but the gameplay just didn't work out. I loved- LOVED -Android: Netrunner, but I can't do collectible games these days. I just have too many other things going on to be competitive and competitive is the only way my brain knows how to play card games (i.e. playing tournaments.) Now, of course, it's dead. But I like the universe so much that I grabbed a copy of New Angeles from the holiday sale because I'd really like to try a slugfest negotiation game (it's 4-6 players.) Just got it last week, so no plays yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I wish there were more games based in it, even though I'd also appreciate a bit more grit and a little less glitz in my cyberpunk.
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07 Nov 2018 14:40 #285513 by hotseatgames
The only one I have played is Infiltration, a few times. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
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07 Nov 2018 15:09 #285517 by Vysetron
I played a shitton of Netrunner and it left me with a lot of love for the setting. It may be a bit cleaner visually, but lore-wise it's as filthy as most cyberpunk. I genuinely do not understand why they don't pump out Android games at the same rate/variety as all the Arkhams.
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07 Nov 2018 15:36 - 07 Nov 2018 15:41 #285520 by BaronDonut
I feel like the designs FFG foists on the Android Universe are often a weird fit that don't do the setting justice.

Android itself is a weird monstrosity that I love but that I totally understand why many people can't stand. While I would give a limb for an overhauled edition, it seems to be this weird relic beloved by few.

Infiltration is an okay fit, and a pretty good game, but as far as light push your luck goes it's kinda middle of the pack. I do think it's one of the few games of this ilk that works great with six.

New Angeles is interesting, but if I'm getting six people together to play a heavy negotiation game, it's gonna be Dune or Here I Stand. Plus, while playing as the corp in Netrunner is fun, a game centered around corporate negotiation kinda takes the punk outta the equation.

Mainframe is alright but is a half-assed reskin of an abstract game.

All this to say, the Android Universe feels more like a weird dumping ground than a prime IP. I hope they try more stuff! I hope it's good!
Last edit: 07 Nov 2018 15:41 by BaronDonut.
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07 Nov 2018 16:18 #285525 by Nodens
Infiltration has constantly delivered for years. A short and fun game for 4+ people. Also like Android and am going to keep it for now.

I do like the setting and the overall graphic design. That said, my biggest problem is the writing. The stories are ok, but the characters in Android with all their luggage and conflict remain cardboard standees.
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07 Nov 2018 16:45 #285528 by BaronDonut
Android games I would happily play:
-a sherlock homes consulting detective style set of mystery books
-a total reboot of android w/ an app similar to mansions 2nd ed
-some sort of asymmetrical DOAM game set on mars w/ corps vs. anarchs
-area control dueling criminal syndicates kind of thing
-hidden movement catch the courier or some shit
-I don't know the setting is good make something else plz

FFG IS ANYONE LISTENING YOU CAN HAVE THESE FOR FREE OK?
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07 Nov 2018 18:12 #285534 by DarthJoJo
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve long admired the breadth of the Android setting. Most cyberpunk still reflects its ‘80’s roots with its obsession with Japan, but Android, at least in the card game, bothered to ask “What’s going on in India and Africa? How are they dealing with this brave new world?”
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07 Nov 2018 19:28 #285542 by Sevej
Cyberpunk is never a really marketable setting. That what imagined back then is less technologically-advanced than what we have now doesn't help. Cyberpunk themes are never very comfortable either. It's an extremely niche genre/setting.

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07 Nov 2018 19:32 #285544 by Vysetron
I mean, Cyberpunk 2077 is seeming pretty marketable.

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07 Nov 2018 19:53 #285549 by Sevej
Cyberpunk 2077 is an exception, not the norm. It's like RDR for the wild west genre.

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08 Nov 2018 00:00 #285557 by SuperflyPete
Android universe series of Exit type games, or maybe more Time Stories type, where there’s a mystery.

An Android dungeon crawly (like Catacombs) where your characters are avatars in a virtual reality, where you’re hacking, etc. Flix style skill games for resolution of some. Campaign versus a corporation or some evil conspiracy.

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08 Nov 2018 08:34 #285575 by Jackwraith

SuperflyTNT wrote: An Android dungeon crawly (like Catacombs) where your characters are avatars in a virtual reality,


This totally reminds me of the Cyberpapcy from the old TORG RPG.

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08 Nov 2018 10:08 #285622 by jpat
Like Terrinoth, the Android "universe" was basically just a board game setting onto which the appellation "universe" was retroactively attached, which means we shouldn't really have any high expectations of cohesion.

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08 Nov 2018 10:14 - 08 Nov 2018 10:31 #285623 by Mr. White
However, there are novels and some universe-guide. Those ingredients seem to be enough to make an rpg setting stick. Even a tabletop minis game setting goes farther with a lot of fluff spun around the game.

Why has this not happened with universes based on board games? Do board games simply not provide as much immersion as rpgs and minis games and therefore their settings don't stick? Maybe that's it...with an rpg or minis game there's all the out-of-game tinkering that has to go on. One can interact with the setting at home between sessions. With board games, there's nothing really to do between sessions. No reason to revisit the setting.

Perhaps board game grown settings, by the hit-and-run nature of visitations, just can't take?
Last edit: 08 Nov 2018 10:31 by Mr. White.
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