D20 Modern, Purefold and OGL Future Noir - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

D20 Modern, Purefold and OGL Future Noir

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
nmc
Nov 16, 2009 18:47:06 Greetings all.

A few months ago I stumbled across a web article about a project called Purefold, a multimedia enterprise undertaken by Ridley Scott and various partners that would explore themes related to the movie Blade Runner. Check out an article about it at<www.podcastingnews.com/2009/06/05/ridley...>. The part that I found most interesting about it is that the entire project would be put together under a Creative Commons License, so that, in theory, the public could use material for related endeavors.

Naturally, one of the first thoughts that came to mind for me was that this would provide awesome potential for collaboration with D20 Modern. It is, in my opinion, an excellent system that was never really given a fair shot at being successful. The possibility of developing new material for it inspired by the future noir genre is intriguing, but I have a couple of questions.

1. Would people be interested in playing in an OGL Future Noir setting?

2. Would people be interested in contributing to such a project?

-Nate
#2
rustam1
Nov 17, 2009 13:15:41
Future Noir

aka. The Future Is Darkly Lit

Noir, an idea taken from the gritty American detective/crime novels of the 1930s.

Could be inter-changable with City Noir, a surreal dystopia full of hideous, distorted black towers and other signs of a future gone wrong. The localized, urban version of a Crapsack World. Apathetic Citizens shuffle though a maze of overbearing black skyscrapers, Trashed out Back Alleys and Sinister Subways as sirens wail constantly in the background. Expect a very limited color palette and a palpable air of depression. An unbelievable crime rate is optional but recommended.

"When the darkness fell, New York City became something else. Bad things happened in the night, on the streets of that "other" city. Noir York City." — Max Payne

Examples:
Warhammer 40000, where "grim darkness" doesn't just apply to the tone of the setting. The Alien movies. Batman's Gotham. Bubblegum Crisis and Silent Moebius, two anime series that took visual inspiration from Blade Runner. The movie that first meshed Film Noir aesthetics and Cyberpunk themes.
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So, I vote yes, we need MORE Future Noir sourcebooks, etc.

Would that be like all the Shadowrun Stuff but without the Magical? Almost a Twilight 2K-plus? Or maybe more William Gibson's Johnny Mnemonic and the Sprawl?

Grim & Gritty

#3
backstabbist
Nov 17, 2009 17:00:29 Throw in some Chinatown, and maybe some parts of Double Indemnity (sp?)
and then you really got somethin

Judge Dredd was in a dark town, but that was far from Noir

... now, the grim Streetsweeper with the fog machine and erie loudspeakers
#4
TheRealOrion
Nov 18, 2009 1:59:14 Just because I'm a bit of a film nerd: "Film Noir" was a term invented by French film critics. It specifically refers to movies like Double Indemnity or The Maltese Falcon, or the later Neo Noir movies like Chinatown. The literary genre on which Film Noir is based is usually, I think, called "Hardboiled Detective" (or often just "Hardboiled"). Which of those you favour in an RPG is actually an interesting question; they have the same narrative/genre conventions obviously (morally questionable hero, femme fatale, urban setting), but Film Noir has a whole added layer of visual signifiers (light shining through blinds, slinky women, 40s fashion, cigarettes) as well as the very common use of first-person narration (to mimic the language of Hardboiled). Any or all of those could be worked into a Noir-style RPG, depending on how much you feel comfortable guiding a plot into a certain shape and/or how much you like describing the world around you in visual detail.

BTW, you could call it "Dangerous Days." That was the alternate title of Bladerunner, I believe, and it's less copyrighted/trademarked.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 nmc Nov 16, 2009 18:47:06	Greetings all. A few months ago I stumbled across a web article about a project called Purefold, a multimedia enterprise undertaken by Ridley Scott and various partners that would explore themes related to the movie Blade Runner. Check out an article about it at<www.podcastingnews.com/2009/06/05/ridley...>. The part that I found most interesting about it is that the entire project would be put together under a Creative Commons License, so that, in theory, the public could use material for related endeavors. Naturally, one of the first thoughts that came to mind for me was that this would provide awesome potential for collaboration with D20 Modern. It is, in my opinion, an excellent system that was never really given a fair shot at being successful. The possibility of developing new material for it inspired by the future noir genre is intriguing, but I have a couple of questions. 1. Would people be interested in playing in an OGL Future Noir setting? 2. Would people be interested in contributing to such a project? -Nate
#2 rustam1 Nov 17, 2009 13:15:41	Future Noir aka. The Future Is Darkly Lit Noir, an idea taken from the gritty American detective/crime novels of the 1930s. Could be inter-changable with City Noir, a surreal dystopia full of hideous, distorted black towers and other signs of a future gone wrong. The localized, urban version of a Crapsack World. Apathetic Citizens shuffle though a maze of overbearing black skyscrapers, Trashed out Back Alleys and Sinister Subways as sirens wail constantly in the background. Expect a very limited color palette and a palpable air of depression. An unbelievable crime rate is optional but recommended. "When the darkness fell, New York City became something else. Bad things happened in the night, on the streets of that "other" city. Noir York City." — Max Payne Examples: Warhammer 40000, where "grim darkness" doesn't just apply to the tone of the setting. The Alien movies. Batman's Gotham. Bubblegum Crisis and Silent Moebius, two anime series that took visual inspiration from Blade Runner. The movie that first meshed Film Noir aesthetics and Cyberpunk themes. ------------------------------------------------------------------ So, I vote yes, we need MORE Future Noir sourcebooks, etc. Would that be like all the Shadowrun Stuff but without the Magical? Almost a Twilight 2K-plus? Or maybe more William Gibson's Johnny Mnemonic and the Sprawl? Grim & Gritty
#3 backstabbist Nov 17, 2009 17:00:29	Throw in some Chinatown, and maybe some parts of Double Indemnity (sp?) and then you really got somethin Judge Dredd was in a dark town, but that was far from Noir ... now, the grim Streetsweeper with the fog machine and erie loudspeakers
#4 TheRealOrion Nov 18, 2009 1:59:14	Just because I'm a bit of a film nerd: "Film Noir" was a term invented by French film critics. It specifically refers to movies like Double Indemnity or The Maltese Falcon, or the later Neo Noir movies like Chinatown. The literary genre on which Film Noir is based is usually, I think, called "Hardboiled Detective" (or often just "Hardboiled"). Which of those you favour in an RPG is actually an interesting question; they have the same narrative/genre conventions obviously (morally questionable hero, femme fatale, urban setting), but Film Noir has a whole added layer of visual signifiers (light shining through blinds, slinky women, 40s fashion, cigarettes) as well as the very common use of first-person narration (to mimic the language of Hardboiled). Any or all of those could be worked into a Noir-style RPG, depending on how much you feel comfortable guiding a plot into a certain shape and/or how much you like describing the world around you in visual detail. BTW, you could call it "Dangerous Days." That was the alternate title of Bladerunner, I believe, and it's less copyrighted/trademarked.