Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 17:48:40 -0400 
From: Andrew David Weiland <aw1s+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Dark games

grendel@uhuru.uchicago.edu (Cliff Winnig) writes,
>I've noticed a trend in the gaming industry, perhaps a reflection of the  
>depressed economic conditions of the 90's, or maybe just an interest in  
>fantasy evil to fill the gap left by the Evil Empire's rusted out Iron  
>Curtain.
>
>Games & supplements have been appearing lately whose very titles hint
>at that trend:  Shadowrun, TSR's Dark Sun world, Dark Conspiracy, etc.
>Even the new, 3rd edition of Ars Magica, which is pretty much the same
>game it's  always been, is billed as "a dark vision of the medieval world"
>on its back cover.  And inside, there's lots more pictures of demons than in
>earlier editions.  But let's face it:  the Middle Ages may have been a bit
>harsh and devoid of adequate plumbing, but that doesn't make them
>"dark."  Nevertheless, the manufacturers apparently think darkness will
>help sell their product.

Chic logos aside, I think that this reflects a bit of maturity in the
world of game design.  Role playing games are finally realizing that
they aren't just glorified wargames.  The central struggle in RPGs is
often good versus evil.  In the past, characters fought evil opponents. 
Why were they evil?  Because the Know Alignment spell said so.  Evil was
usually much more variable than good; there are thousands of evil
monsters.  But the struggle against evil was always a tactical one.

Eventually players began to yawn, ready to face down Yet Another Evil
Wizard.  Some GMs, and eventually some game designers, responded to the
challenge by making the opponents more interesting.  This was
accomplished by;
(1) Make the "evil" forces noticeably evil.  This requires a little bit
of psychology about why people do what they do, and how "good" men can
allow evil to gain the upper hand.  It also requires you to introduce
some background features that may not be suitable for children.
(2) Make the evil forces powerful.  If the good guys felt that all they
needed to do to win was run good tactical, that's all they'd do.  The
players have to know that, if they make the wrong move, the forces of
evil possess the power to crush them utterly.
(3) Make their choices ambiguous.  If the path to evil is clearly
marked, the path to good is much less so.  Even when the players know
what to do there should some ambiguity.  Why am I struggling when the
penalties for a misstep are so severe?  Why do I bother when all my
efforts will only delay the inevitable victory a few years?  The GM may
even want to say that there is no good, only a few people who are called
evil by others; but here I think your players will disagree (there's a
strong romantic streak among RPGers).

This is the origin of "Dark" games.  It's harder to run, but when it
works its a lot better than the run-of-the-mill fantasy.  And these new
games are dedicated to making it work.  Well, some of them.  CoC and
WFRP are the founders of the genre and the two masters.  I don't know
about Dark Sun; with the right GM it could be very good Dark Fantasy;
without proper GM intervention its just advanced tactical.  Cyberpunk
2020 is definitely dark, Shadowrun less so.  Dark Conspiracy would work
if it plays like the novels read.  Ars Magica could be played dark, but
it's not meant to be so played, graphics aside.  Vampire is a dark game
that can truly question your faith in good, definitely too intense for
most players and GMs.

Sorry if this was an in-depth response to what was meant as a fluff
thread. I do that sometimes.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc