Big Red Couch Podcast - Turning Bad Ideas Into Games

[kedamono]

A follow up to Todd's post.

They met at Fleischer's, the one place in New York City where "heroes" and "villains" could meet, share a drink, and just talk without beating each other up. It didn't hurt that the peace was kept by May Fleischer, former super vigilante and meta human Power Lass. She could bend bars with thumb and forefinger. May had only one rule, if you had an open warrant on you, don't bother to come to her bar. No one disagreed with May.

Kyle entered in the bar, nodding hello to some of the older generation, and giving a grim smile to former adversaries. He was older, more gray gracing his temples, but he was still in top shape for a man his age.

Across the bar, he saw the gleam from Rex's bald pate. Rex smiled and waved at him. Taking a deep breath, Kyle walked across the bar and sat down across from his former nemesis. "So, how's retirement treating you Rex?"

"Retired? Ha!" laughed Rex, "Just this year, I've filed 5 new medical patents for use in hospitals. I'm making more money now, than when I robbed banks. Taxes... I pay my share."

"And you get audited every year," chuckled Kyle. Turning to the waitress, he ordered a whiskey, neat.

After the waitress left, Rex said, "Actually I get audited every quarter... by forensic accountants. They keep expecting me to break the law, so I had to hire my own team of accounts just to keep my finances completely legal." He took sip of his claret, and continued, "I asked to meet with you because of new kid out there."

"A new villain?" replied Kyle and took a sip of his whiskey.

Looking Kyle straight in the eye, Rex replied, "No, not villain, hero. A literal kid. He's only 12 years old."

Raising an admonishing finger, Kyle responded, "Not possible. The Jason act of 2010 bars anyone under the age of 18 from acting as a vigilante, even as a sidekick. You must be mistaken."

"I'm not."

"Okay, who is it then?"

Smiling, Rex said, "Captain Amazo."

Laughing, Kyle replied, "What? No. He's, what, 25? 27 tops! You've been sitting too close to Bezo rays again."

Instead of arguing, Rex pulled out a tablet, keyed up a video, and turned it around so that only Kyle could see it. On it, was the unmistakable red, gold, and green costume of Captain Amazo landing in a back alley, looking up and down the alley, then doing something with his left hand and in flash, he was replaced by a skinny young boy.

"You faked that," accused Kyle, as he reran the video.

"I have no reason to do so. I'm not in the business anymore. If anything, I want to make sure that you guys don't get a bum rap when it comes out that he's a kid, and Senator Desoto comes down on 'Justice Vigilance League' for harboring a minor as a vigilante."

"The same thing that happened to the Wonder Warriors," said Kyle, watching the muscled superhuman turn into a boy.

"Yeah, the Wonder Warriors is why we now have the Jason act," said Rex. "Sure, I have the gear and knowledge to fake this, but, this was taken only a day or so ago. I can give you the address of the alley. You got folks that can do the forensics on that spot. Mister Mississippi could do a time window and show you it."

"So what clued you to this?"

"Some of my former colleagues. They will stop over and complain, and ask me to help them. I always say no, 'I'm outta the business guys.' And they stomp off. But lately they've been complaining about Amazo. He's immature, he treats 'bad guys' like video game characters. He's been known to break limbs and came close to paralyzing one guy. But what got me thinking was a comment Miss Kitty said. She said that 'He acts like my little brother did around older girls. Like when me a my friends would hang at the house. All weird and stuff. Like he's trying to figure out if he likes girls or not.' That got me to thinking."

He took back the tablet and brought up a publicity shot of Captain Amazo. "Look at him. He's built like a video game character. That build, those arms, that waist. He's not human." He touched the pad and an grid appeared. "Look at his head, really look at it. It's not human. It's more Duke Nukem, than human."

Kyle took the tablet and swapped between views, then with his fingers, enlarged the image of Amazo's face. There it was, a face that looked human... but wasn't. "My god, you're right."

"I hate being right. I really do. But you have a kid playing at being a superhero with some form of magic or alien technology. And he's going to either get hurt and reveal who he really is to the world in the worst way, or he's going to kill someone. And I think the only reason he's not a 'bad guy' is that he thinks he has to be a 'good guy'. And it would only take one small incident to push him to the dark side, and I don't think the League could handle a dark Captain Amazo."

Setting the tablet down, Kyle said "So, what do we do?"

Rex gave a chuckle, "You mean 'What do I do?' If I stepped forward with this, the League's reaction would be the same as your first one, only worse. I'm Lord Blight, Sooper Villain. It's in your hands now Kyle. Keep the tablet, I have plenty. Don't use it as evidence, as they will ask you where you got it, and I don't want you to lie. But you have a kid running around thinking he's super hero. What do you do when he gets hurt emotionally and becomes a super villain?"

Kyle finished his whiskey in a gulp. What would he do?

[Borborygmus]

Episode Ninety Five – It’s Time For The DEATH ROBOT



Due to dwindling pool of traditional recruits, the job of reaping souls is given to mechanical replicas. Results are… ….mixed.

A relic of the before-fore times, a metal Goliath hunts those trapped in its deadly arena. Is it a scourge to flee or the biggest score of a lifetime?

An aging mad scientist and a grizzled hero face each other for what seems like the millionth occasion. Is it time for a truce… …or the DEATH ROBOT once more.

The tireless machines re-terraforming the battered Old Earth are a daily hazard to those humans that remain. Worse yet, they are smart enough they starting to get bored.

[Pruthian Caveman]

Hi Everyone, it's Craig here.

I'm back in the UK once more, trying to dredge up some enthusiasm for the return to work after the entirely awesome Gen Con experience.
We've recorded a Gen Con alleged Special, which will be dropping at the usual time this weekend, but there's something I'm wondering about for the next Gen Con, or maybe the next Con if that's not Gen Con 2018;
If we were to do more Big Red Couch stuff at a convention, what would be interesting?

I had some considerable fun making very short YouTube videos on my personal channel, but they were mostly Here's a couple of minutes of Craig making a cheap joke, plus some Hotel Room Tours and an Oh My God That Was An Annoying Train Ride video thrown in. Not actually a lot of gaming content, unless you count me talking to my friend Frank about the astonishing number of dice he bought this year.

It'd be nice to do more, but I'm having trouble figuring out something interesting which could be done.
If you've got any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Cheers,
Craig.

[zircher]

Well, you could do the Big Red Couch road show (I may have suggested this before.) Wander about with a stack of index cards (the prompts) and ask random people and/or game designer types to make a game pitch on the fly. Tell them it's like Iron GM but with only one ingredient and no prestige or prizes.

Personally, I think it would be grand if you had an actual big red couch to use for the interviews. How stupidly expensive is booth or artist alley space at Gen Con or Origins? Huh, what about hosting a game improv/design panel and not having to spend a dime on the venue?

[kedamono]

Plenty of couches, but all you need is a queen sized bedsheet to cover a couch and you have "The Big Red Couch On The Road"!

If you have a GoPro and a willing camera man, you can do a video for YouTube.

And, on the first day of the con, go around with a stack of index cards and a pen or two. Maybe a sign. Ask folks to jot down random ideas, then on last day, setup the couch, get a "guest" and pull cards from the hat! Record it, either audio or video, and if you're brave, ask some of the Gaming Gods if they'd like to do a half an hour on the couch with you... wait, that came out wrong...

[zircher]

The sheet is a clever idea, turn any row of chairs into a 'couch'. A lot more portable than a big cushy love seat.

[Pruthian Caveman]

Craig furiously scribbles notes

Thank You!!

I do remember the "If I Had A Million Dollars" suggestion of a booth at Gen Con, ... The costs are high, even when compared to flights & hotels, but it's the cost in time that puts me off; To man that booth for the con means missing an enormous amount of the convention.
That said, and I think this came up last time, spreading the cost in time and money across multiple podcasts could work.

The panel is an interesting idea.
Ben is distrustful of the very CONCEPT of travel, so ... He's never going to be there, but imaginative types abound, many with less ridiculous accents than my own, ...

On the other hand, as you've pointed out, a red sheet does more or less the same job and is WAY more portable.
I'd been toying with the notion of a BRC YouTube channel, and shot some video on my crappy travel phone (next time I'm taking the Pixel), so that looks like a fun way forward.
And it'd be fun to try to get folks who are closely associated with specific gaming lines to pick a card & spin an idea for their game/system/setting.

Like I said before; Thank You.
You've both given me some ideas & directions to investigate.

[kedamono]

You don't have to man a booth, just setup a cardboard "suggestion box" on the con floor, probably in the dealer's room with permission from the con or a willing booth owner. You can get suggestion boxes online, just google "cardboard suggestion box" or "cardboard collection box" and you'll see lots of them. Or you can DIY your own.

Leave it for the first two days while you're enjoying the con, and schmoozing possible guests for the couch. You could do an official panel with invited guests. (I'll nominate Bruce Sheffer, my cohost on the Tri Tac Games podcast.) Hopefully you'll get useful prompts, especially if you write on the box "Game pitches for Panel, 20 words or less." and put up a few of the ones you already got and did shows on. (Of course you'll get cards with the word "penis" or other variations written on them.)

[Pruthian Caveman]

Gen Con Retrospective



The minimally-edited Big Red Couch Gen Con Report.
Or, more accurately, what Craig did on his holidays.

[Pruthian Caveman]

Episode Ninety Six – Lore Adepts



Every Person, or Group, or even Empire is made up of stories, those they’re told, and those they tell themselves; Change the story, and you change THEM.

What Terrible Secret Lurks In The Heart Of The Canadian Wilderness?
And Possibly In The Heart Of Every Canadian?

A group of friends journey through a crumbling MMORPG to fulfill one last Quest.
There’s no risk here, but your boss isn’t going to be happy about all the work you’re missing, and Mom’s basement just isn’t as cosy as it used to be.

If your lives, actions, and very thoughts are being controlled by a bunch of ‘Players’ of an ‘RPG’, the very least they could do is PAY ATTENTION!!