Wednesday 3 September 2014

Ryuutama and the Tiresomeness of New Systems

I've recently heard about a Japanese RPG that had its translation into English launched as a kickstarter. It's called Ryuutama and the unique elements are explained here, but the person who seems to have summarised it most effectively is the OP in this therpgsite post:

In a nutshell, Ryuutama is a Japanese game about traveling that uses old school-ish mechanics. You play common folk (a Farmer, a Herbalist, a Hunter, etc) who at a point in their life feels the necessity to undertake a journey to see the wonders of the world, so its focus is more what you do to survive along the way than fighting monsters (for what I've heard, the combat system is pretty lethal). 
Probably the most interesting and unique aspect is that the GM has his own character with its own special rules. The Ryuujin (Dragon) the GM chooses to play changes the focus of the campaign and how certain rules work (for example, a Black Dragon is about tragedy and betrayal, while a Red Dragon is all about exploring dungeons and fighting monsters). The Ryuujin follows the group from afar, recording their adventures, and may even be able to help the characters from time to time.

Now, there are many elements of the whole endeavour that I find bothersome (the saccharine cutesy pseudo-European Japanese art; the fact that some RPG nerds are doing the translation and I have been doing translation professionally for a long time and I am an awful snob about it; the fact that a lot of it seems aimed at 11-year-olds; the fact that the combat system is based on the Final Fantasy one) but at its core, this seems to be a game focusing on wilderness travel and adventure with interesting twists, which is something I have been wanting, or wanting to make, for a long time. And who am I kidding? I might be a grumpy old skeptic but I may as well own up to thinking that Miyazaki Hayao's Oregon Trail sounds actually rather nice. (And I am fairly sure the rules can be used for scenarios that are altogether different...like Lewis and Clark in Pandemonium or The Rough Guide to the Elemental Plane of Ooze or Let's Explore the Leviathan's Intestinal Tract or A Beginner's Guide to Caving in the Underdark or The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, pt. II.)

However, a genuine problem, I have to confess, is that I think I am just getting too old for learning new systems. I don't have the time, energy, or willpower to even read RPG rulebooks nowadays, let alone actually take the time to learn the system properly. I have about a dozen rulebooks on my bookshelf of which I've read about one page each, because even flicking through them I begin to feel the onset of brain stem death. Which says nothing about the quality of the writing or the way the rules are presented, and everything about the fact that I've reached a stage in my life where I simply can't summon up the effort or concentration to bother figuring out the way a new system works.

It says a lot about Ryuutama that it can seem both incredibly annoying and intrinsically tiresome because it's a new system and I'm lazy, and yet at the same time manage to appeal to me quite strongly. That in itself seems to warrant a purchase, don't you think?

28 comments:

  1. The big problem that confronts my curmudgeonly old self when it comes to new systems is the point of it all -- Does this system do anything better than those that I know, either generally, or for the purpose of this new setting? The answer seldom seems to be "Yes".

    Given the somewhat novel focus of the game on exploration and discovery rather than combat, perhaps it is the case here, but I'd probably need to see it "up close" in either a demo or in-depth review/analysis to be convinced.

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  2. It may be because I'm a backer of Ryuutama, but I was pleasantly surprised with the rule system as I read it. It's very light on spot rules, so gameplay will likely move very quickly. I tended to look at the combat system as seeming more pokemon than final fantasy, but I guess we just meet in the middle and realize that yeah, it's very JRPG.

    I'm most apprehensive about running Ryuutama when I realize that I am dumbfounded when it comes to creating games that don't feature at least some combat.

    Learning the system, though, seems to be a breeze, at least compared to learning Shadowrun, which I am also in the process of atm.

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    1. Thanks. Yeah, I've heard Shadowrun has got mega-complicated. I used to play it a lot, but it's been a long, long time and I've forgotten almost all of it.

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    2. It is nightmarish exactly how much crunch goes into it. I read about 100 pages, curl into the fetal position, and start plotting one-shots of Savage Worlds or Call of Cthulhu.

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  3. For what it's worth... I backed it and so I also have the preview pdf. You're right about the saccharine atmosphere of the game. I backed it because it sounded intriguing and despite its anime trappings (I fucking hate anime!) I also like exploring new systems and seeing what other people come up with. That this was a game written by a single Japanese gamer was also very intriguing to me. I think it's got some really neat ideas, but I also don't know how useful it will be for me.

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    1. I usually hate anime too, although I make a few exceptions. The 'look' of the game definitely isn't for me, but I still like the sound of it.

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    2. I can appreciate the art. I mean, I liked Final Fantasy when I was 9.
      I made an exception for this because some people refer to it as "Hayao Miyazaki's Oregon Trail" - heartwarming but deadly.

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  4. A new system? Where? Gimme gimme gimme!

    ;)

    I like everything about this game. The art, the heartwarming approach, the idea that the GM has a character that builds over time along with the PC party, the single writer/gamer origin Patrick mentions, everything.

    Why? Because I don't have a game like that right now in my collection.

    The day I stop beginning interested in new games and game systems is the day I stop playing. I will, by that point, have found the ultimate, perfect, flawless system and setting of such utter awesomeness that it needs no tweaking, no adjustments, and likely no thought or input on my part.

    Precisely one second after that, soda can sized, angel-winged yeti will fly out of my bung hole in a steady stream.

    I rather think the latter scenario more likely.

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    1. I knew you'd comment saying something like this. I just knew it. ;)

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    2. I half agree with you about new systems, but I think the reason I collect them is that I probably have a problem. Is it possible to be an RPG hoarder?

      Because I think I'm an RPG hoarder.

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  5. now at 44 im the oldest gamer in my scene i get kids trying to tell me i must try a new system - im happy with brp and bx dnd type games and find story telling games linear, without risk and unsatisfying - also so simple they dont really need a book at all - you could read a piece of paper once - if it aint broke dont fix it - i get new stuff for ideas and seldom for rules. I get abused even for liking old games as if im a gate blocker or holding them back somehow. I think plenty of people criticize arguably the most successful systems ever as uncool because they are old. This is a gamesaying response - old must be bad. I agree if your happy why change - a game is not like a computer or car or phone.

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    1. Games are more like software, yeah; but sometimes need polishing. Maybe they don't always produce the outcome we want, maybe we just want to make it offer more choices in a less complicated way.

      How the rules are presented, however, is entirely about technology.

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  6. Funny stuff. Thanks for the confessions.

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  7. The new rules are simple enough, making a fantastic, Studio Ghibli world in every direction is the unsparing task.

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    1. Yeah, I think Studio Ghibli works best in small doses...

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  8. I've actually played roughly 2 months of weekly sessions of this (my friend backed it and has been running the game from the preview .pdf).

    The saccharine anime cuteness can probably be safely ignored or played for laughs/sardonic juxtapositions.

    Combat feels kinda boring and samey to me, but to be fair, I have been playing as a hyper specialized healer guy who has just about nothing to contribute to hitting things. I can see how it could get deadly real fast with a serious threat.

    What's *really* killer, though, is the interaction of the various travel systems. You can get into a vicious death spiral where status ailments make you more likely to fail the checks that fix status ailments, and then you start losing health, and all of a sudden you're wondering which character you might have to leave in a coma by the fire and hope to be able to come back and rescue.

    Perhaps more importantly, the travel rules could probably be pretty easily ported to a more familiar system, but as written, it interacts with the "die type as stats" core of the game.

    So, while I sympathize about losing energy for reading and learning new rules, if the travel concept sounds interesting, I think it's worth checking out, and even more worth playing a couple sessions of, if you can swing it.

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    1. That does sound cool. I want a travel system to be harsh and result in vicious death spirals.

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    2. The One Ring has a quite complete (and potentially deadly) travel system.

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  9. It's been translated to French for some time now, and I have bought it for my daughter (14 at the time) for Christmas 2013. She loves the GM-behaviour-depends-on-the-dragon's-colour thing. I am afraid it's all I can say, I have never tried the game myself.

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  10. I know a game which "is set in a world where the NPCs of the village--the bakers, minstrels, farmers, shopkeepers and healers--set off on a wonderful adventure exploring a fantasy world together". It's called DCC RPG and it's a truly heartwarming family game.

    -Mad MinMax

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    1. Nothing brings people together in those cold winter nights like a good, old-fashioned character funnel.

      *shudder*

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  11. I hear you, age is weighing on me, too. At 42 with a full-time job, a wife and a small kid, the time to play is scarce, and even scarcer the time to learn something new; I just don't have the patience anymore, which is sad, because I used to love even just reading game books :(
    The last book I read with utter pleasure is 13th Age; it's just a fun read, even if you never get to play.
    I hope the 5e books will be as fun, but from the Starter Set, it seems like the writing style will be somewhat "stunted."

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  12. This troubles me. I may not be AS old as some of the folks here (a "mere" 39 in November) but I THIRST for new stuff at this point. If there's anything I DON'T want to do right now, it's play basically the same darn games I was playing at age 20. If I never crawl another dungeon or roll another saving throw, I won't regret it, but wow, there are all KINDS of amazing games out there that I am only just discovering.

    I don't want to calcify and become guy who sits at the gaming table telling the damn kids to keep their hands off my dice and saying things like "Back in MY day, we didn't have any of these new-fangled 'story games'. Our characters died if we made one wrong choice, and we LIKED IT!"

    So I read lots of new games. I'm sortof in an RPG-buying moratorium right now while I catch up on a lot of stuff, but even so, there's a more-or-less constant flow of new ideas and concepts.

    Are some books "tougher reads" than others (regardless of whether you're old or not)? Sure. (I confess, the Ryuutama rough draft PDF was very rough) Does that mean it's not worth your effort to read any of them? Hell no. But you've got to keep learning! What kind of hobbyist only knows a tiny corner of his hobby, after all?

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    1. I'm 50 and I'm still a voracious RPG reader. I never tire of reading new systems and new mechanics, partially because I do not want to keep having the same play experience over and over, partially because I'm still in search of the perfect game. Heavy tactical high crunch game? Sometimes sure. Rules light character driven? Sure. Some days Pathfinder, some days Over the Edge...

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    2. I've actually written about this a couple times on my blog, but I actually LOVE reading RPGs, even if I never wind up playing them. I like game design. A lot. For me, a lot of the fun is seeing how different people experiment with creating solutions for fictional problems. RPG mechanics are the ultimate thought experiments, keeping dozens of moving parts in your head at once with the goal to simulate a specific view of reality. It's one part mathematics and engineering, one part fiction and philosophy course, all the while trying to arrive at that most alchemical and mysterious of goals "what makes things fun?"

      http://swordandscoundrel.blogspot.com/2014/10/rpg-mechanics-as-creative-problem.html

      Granted, I completely concede the author's main point. I love reading different rpg books, but your game has to do something awesome that my current ones do not in order for me to want to play it. This is actually part of why I love the variety of indie-games coming out. They push hard in that focus. There are plenty of games that serve as generic platforms for whatever you could want to play: Savage Worlds, GURPS, d20, etc.. but what the indie-games are now pushing for is creating entire games around a specific and limited experience, and doing it absurdly well. The phrase to throw around is always "constraint breeds creativity."

      The more focused your concept, the more you can do with it, and the more reason there is to play.

      My two cents, anyway. Nice post.

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