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[SirNiko]

With everyone playing Vampire, I wonder if there have been any good video game adaptations of Mage: The Ascension? That was my favorite WoD setting.

[TeeGee]

None that I know of. Would be interesting to see someone tackle the magic mechanics, with all the freedom and flavorization it allowed.

[Player 3]

So I got Noah!'s message. Before seeing over this, I'll be waiting for the current games suggested to end before moving on to quick, weekly games. But for now, a general rundown of the rules before then so we can all agree on something.

TIGS High Score Club

     The HSC produces a game weekly. Whatever these games are are more arcade-y, hence the "high score" part. The odds are is that we'll be using MAME or arcade indie games with score mechanics.

     In the event of MAME, I will specify the exact DIP SW(itch) settings for the game, the score to beat to be on the roster of participation (which is rather low), and my top score. The top five scorers earn points in +5, +4, +3, and so on. By the end of the season (four months), the highest points wins the title of "TIGSHSC Champion Season X, 201X." Each season goes by calendar months, so the week count will vary, but be more challenging to pass your overtakers if shorter seasons are abound.

     Actually, June 1st may be the first, to match with the calendar for summer. During the week, people can suggest the next game, debate about it, and that kind of stuff.

[s0]

None that I know of. Would be interesting to see someone tackle the magic mechanics, with all the freedom and flavorization it allowed.

i dont think there are any videogames in fact, not even bad ones.

i dont know a whole lot about this wod business but i keep hearing bloodlines is a faithful adaption.

[TeeGee]

Bloodlines is completely faithful in mood and lore, and relatively faithful with mechanics (changing a mainly narrative system into actual game mechanics isn't that easy), but Mage was a different beast and could be very challenging / interesting to adapt.

With Vampire, the mechanics are pretty straightforward. If you've got a discipline at level X, it allows you to use power Y. Not unlike a DnD wizard unlocking new spells at certain levels. In Mage, it's much less defined. You don't get any powers per se, you just buy levels in masteries of different aspects of reality -- like: forces, matter, living matter, spirits, space, etc. If you want to cast a fireball, you have to find a viable way to create it through your masteries. Possibly by gathering required energy through the use of Forces (fe: change electricity into heat), Prime (summon "mana") or Spirit (take it from the spirit world), turning it into a ball of lava using Matter, and throwing it at the enemy with Forces.

Then, there's the paradigm thing. Each player has to come up with a way their character does magic, so that it fits their tradition and personality. Using the fireball example, a player playing a classical wizard could say he needs his wand and magic formulas to hurl missiles, a shaman could summon the spirit of fire through dance and self-mutilation, while a mad scientist type of character could devise a fireball spewing plasma rifle. The mechanics would be exactly the same, but players are required to add this flavor or they face actual in-game consequences.

Last thing is coincidental magic. It's easier and safer to cast spells so that they look like natural occurrences rather than a super-natural phenomenon. It's better to explode a conveniently placed oven than to hurl an actual fireball. It reduces the risk of a backlash called "paradox".

All in all, it's an amazing system for narrative storytelling, allowing (or even requiring) a lot of creativity from the players and the narrator, but it's hard to imagine a viable way to transfer it into a video game.

/nerd mode off

[SirNiko]

The concept of Mage is absolutely brilliant. To go one step back from TeeGee, the basic premise of Mage is that reality is amorphous and can be shaped by the mind. "Magic" is just people who understand the amorphous nature of reality and therefore can will it to take on the form they desire.

Unfortunately, while wizards fought over the best way to convert the unawakened masses, the masses settled into a comfortable reality where the world is governed by static laws that can never be broken. So many people became comfortable with this, that it became a powerful force wizards must overcome to do their magic. Hence, Paradox is the backlash of all of unawakened humanity disbelieving your magical meddling. Keeping your magic on the downlow, either out of sight or by making it appear to just be natural but coincidental phenomena keeps you from generating paradox.

It's such a brilliant setting that encourages a lot of creative character building, since your magical powers all stem from a system that is both narratively and mechanically ambiguous. I played a parlor magician who cast his magic with wands and cards as magical foci, had a sympathetic assistant who didn't generate paradox if she saw me cast magic, and I had an insane magic rabbit familiar played by the GM who guided me on my journey into the world of doing magic. It was great.

It might fit into an Adventure style of game, maybe something in the vein of the Shadowrun game on the SNES with an emphasis on dialogue and item puzzles, with some minor combat abilities instead of stat building.

[PaleFox]

So, for whenever we do the next one, (after La-Mulana I guess) I propose we do King's Field. There's a PC version of the first one that supports modern resomolutions and gamepads.

Could be good.

[SirNiko]

I would do King's Field.

[s0]

KF would be cool but the first game honestly isn't that good. it's a dungeon crawl divided into 9 levels and lacks the seamless world and signature music and (imo) atmosphere of the later gams. the two other ps1 games and the 4th one for the ps2 are top notch though

btw: the kf1 i'm talking about is a japan-only release that was a ps1 launch title over there. the game known as kf1 in the west is actually kf2.

[deathtotheweird]

yeah he's talking about the japanese king's field, which I'm enjoying so far.

but then again should probably pick a non-rpg for the next tigs club game.

[Dragonmaw]

A strategy or open-world action game would be nice. I know it has RPG elements, but what about Mount & Blade: Warband?

[deathtotheweird]

but the club is playing a commercial game now, should probably try to suggest a freeware title next.

[Tanner]

YES. I would be all over Warband.

[Shackhal]

but the club is playing a commercial game now, should probably try to suggest a freeware title next.

Then, let's play Fallout as the next game. Right now it's free in GOG.

[Dragonmaw]

I'm for Fallout. As our free game, but another open-world, freeware, game would be better

[Blademasterbobo]

fallout doesn't really count as freeware, that's like saying portal is freeware because it was free for a weekend once

[s0]

the point is people who want to play it for the club can get it for free right now.

[leonelc29]

i vote for fallout...2.

[baconman]

I'm down for some King's Field. Been curious about it ever since the comparison to you-know-what. If everything goes right, anyways.

Please stand by as we are experiencing technical difficulties...

[Fallsburg]

I suggest that we move to a monthly format instead of a bi-weekly format.  A lot of these games (I'm looking at you La-Mulana) are way too involved to be given a fair shot in 2 weeks.