Creativity Dome

So, Ghostbusters eh? Jesus Christ, Mohammed and Buddha but man this is getting out of control.

Star Wars Carc, Star Wars everything... Conan, Firefly, Star Trek, D&D...

People go apeshit when a game comes out based on an IP they like... I suffer from it too. But ultimately what's better to you. The tried and true, the IP you've seen before? Or the new world created exclusively for your gaming pleasure? I mean in ideal circumstances. So I get that D&D is a better setting than Terrinoth or that Lord of the Rings is also better. But is it better for gaming and the stories we tell? In the long run? Ideally if a setting could be equally as awesome it seems clear to me that an original IP would be better. But it's not every day that a good designer is also a creative enough person to also be a good story teller and setting creator. But what if they could? Would you still clamor for that Star Wars game or would one based in an original world be better?

It's a tough call. An established IP could be distracting during a game, with people talking about favorite movies, episodes, books, etc. Or an established IP could be more inspiring to a game designed, resulting in a more interesting game. I guess I lean slightly in favor of an original setting.

depends on what type of game. I've noticed that for deck-building games, I'm way more into it if it's LOTR-based.

If the gameplay is a good fit with an established IP, then I think the game does better sticking to that. If the fit is awkward or forced, then go original.

I'm still waiting for Amistad Puerto Rico

I think I have to go with established IP. For me I really like the idea of "exploring the world' of my favorite TV shows, movies, and books, and video/board games let me do that. Most of my absolute favorite board games (Star Craft, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) are based on established IP. .

Look at my freakin' avatar... vehicle Voltron for corn sakes! That should tell you everything.

Hey wait, I think I found the next Kickstarter million dollar hit...

A licensed product is a foot in the door, the product in the window to get you in the store, the built in sales pitch.
I'll take a licensed product the majority of the time.

Dune vs. Rex

That's all for me, it's 9:37 pm and the kids get up at 5:30.

The way I see it, virtually every mechanic used in modern games is taken from previously published ones. So, the only difference is the mix of the mechanics and most importantly, the theme. Would Arkham Horror be as good if it was about alien invaders? Maybe, maybe not. Theme matters.

pfff, neither is a guarantee for a good game. And do historical settings count as original or as a sort of IP? People go apeshit for ACW games, but ignore The War of Jenkins Ear. Does that say anything about how interesting the war is? Or anything about how interesting a game about either conflict? You might suggest that Caylus has a unique setting, but it is completely bland.

Abstention

Generally I prefer something original, but I may be kidding myself by saying that. I always liked the Star Wars aesthetic, but I never had any interest in "being" Han Solo, or taking the role of some character that would essentially be an extra in the movies. I liked the Old Republic games on the PC because they removed the established media to arm's length, giving room in the setting to make your story as a player.

I can't rag on Arkham Horror, because "Cthulhu" wasn't played out as a setting when it first came out, but I can chide it mildly for further establishing the "eldritch pulp adventure" style of setting that's become ubiquitous whenever someone wants to make a game with a "safe" kind of evil in it. Imagine Arkham as a game featuring a Satanic cult, with just as much horror, but even then that's not an original IP, that mythology has been with us for millennia, now.

Firefly sits in a strange place for me. I do enjoy the call-backs to the show, but also it hurts the game when you know that 80% of the available captains to play as, are gobshites. With an original IP, they'd just be roles with slightly asymmetrical abilities and that problem wouldn't be there. But then I look at a game like Xia, and I don't see a story there, just a sequence of events. I don't see the character in the game. That may be my failure more than the games. Maybe I do need that crutch of familiar media to spark imagination.

I do think the Dune/Rex comparison is harsh. A re-theme doesn't have to include an eye-bleachingly bad board and furry cosplayers on the box cover.

craniac wrote: Dune vs. Rex

That's all for me, it's 9:37 pm and the kids get up at 5:30.

What about Dune vs. Cosmic? That seems more fair to me.

Jur wrote: pfff, neither is a guarantee for a good game. And do historical settings count as original or as a sort of IP? People go apeshit for ACW games, but ignore The War of Jenkins Ear. Does that say anything about how interesting the war is? Or anything about how interesting a game about either conflict? You might suggest that Caylus has a unique setting, but it is completely bland.

Abstention

I considered making historical setting a third option but I almost feel like the original IP vs. someone else's world brought to a game situation is separate from this in a way.

If games are just going to rip off the stories and concepts of Star Wars, LOTR, Aliens, Conan, Blade Runner, Star Trek, whatever...then they may as well just BE those things rather than some jackass's attempt to "cleverly" express their admiration for those properties in homage or whatever. Same with D&D. If it's going to practically be D&D in all but name...I'd rather it just say "D&D" on the box.

An established IP also makes it easier to "get" the game. I know what Rebel and Empire are like, whereas I don't quite know who the different factions in Neuroshima are. So when explaining the game and giving players a feel for how it's played and what kind of stories it tell, an established IP can be a short cut. It's sort of easier to fill out the empty spaces in the text so to say.

On the other hand you risk players looking for something that's not in the game. Like how you could not play Conan in the Conan board game.

I almost never, never want to play an IP game. When I play a game, I want to play a game, I don't want to re-enact an already-written script. I don't want for these units to be able to go anywhere on the map except here for no reason other than they couldn't in the movie or book. I don't want one of the characters to be crazy powerful because if he -- and it'll be a he -- isn't, nerds will shit fire. There's just no appeal to me in playing Star Wars figures, as I did when I was a kid, only as cardboard on a map with dice. Most properties are a barrier to entry for me -- I won't look twice at your game if it's Lord of the Rings, for example. Firefly absolutely pissed me off with the fucking Jayne's Hat being crazy powerful because god fucking forbid Jayne's hat not be in the game and be awesomely epic. I want to play a game, not squee over shit I recognize.

The only exception is Marrying Mr. Darcy, which rules.

Legomancer wrote: -- I won't look twice at your game if it's Lord of the Rings, for example.

Then you are making a big mistake and missing out on a great game which is War of the Ring.

Your over generalisations just don't cut much ice with a well balanced game like WoTR