It appears, in the final summation, that the only game I really want to write is probably going to sound like bloody Synibbar (or whatver it is) or Rifts. Some kind of gonzo infantile genre mash

But god help me, I don't care!

I like Rifts.  Not the Palladium system attached to it, but thematically it's a "kitchen sink" setting with some consistency.  Even if that consistency is gonzo.

I'm thinking some kind of heroic gonzo world striding shit.

What Exalted should have been.

Maybe because there are just too many fun genres out there, we want to experience them all at once, in one big match-up.

As a card-carrying member of the Kitchen Sink Coalition, I approve this message.

I got back into WoW and part of it's charm is just this. You have a world that actually is pure science fantasy. Irt has technology, magic, swords, orcs, wizards, a spacehip that crashed with it's natives from another realm, inter dimensional travelling antagonists, demons, zombies, everything. There i am walking trhough one of the capitals and looking at the legion of pc's with all their accoutrements and glowing finery and it makes Exalted look like a school photograph. All these crazy, disparate characters, all with their own take on the backstory and setting, all wielding powers as if it were commonplace to do so. Yet it works (as a videogame ). In the setting, these 'exalted' haven't gone all emo and wrecked the world. They are part of the natural social order.

For true.  Mostly just agreeing with and enjoying the comments here.  I, too, enjoy some serious genre mashing in my campaigns.  In a lot of cases, I think worlds like the ones you're describing will eventually develop their own internal consistency through play.  Just so long as you realize you're not playing by Earth rules anymore.

But over-thinking during campaign prep will cause a lot of headaches (I suffer from this frequently).

I think something that helps a lot with building your internal consistency is flavor, especially art.  In your WoW example, the aliens and the barbarians seem to fit together because of similar design.  Or think about the He-Man cartoon: Eternia was a serious mashup but it was really difficult to notice or care that hovercraft just whizzed by a dragon because it blended together.

Not something to easily account for in an RPG, but definitely something to keep in mind when raiding the interweb for images to use in your handouts, etc.

Quote from: winkingbishop;366546For true.  Mostly just agreeing with and enjoying the comments here.  I, too, enjoy some serious genre mashing in my campaigns.  In a lot of cases, I think worlds like the ones you're describing will eventually develop their own internal consistency through play.  Just so long as you realize you're not playing by Earth rules anymore.

But over-thinking during campaign prep will cause a lot of headaches (I suffer from this frequently).

I think something that helps a lot with building your internal consistency is flavor, especially art.  In your WoW example, the aliens and the barbarians seem to fit together because of similar design.  Or think about the He-Man cartoon: Eternia was a serious mashup but it was really difficult to notice or care that hovercraft just whizzed by a dragon because it blended together.

Not something to easily account for in an RPG, but definitely something to keep in mind when raiding the interweb for images to use in your handouts, etc.

There's something about deriving sense, consistencey and depth from such a setting that I find really appealing - beside the sheer joy of the freedom from sensibilities. I mean, after all, are we not STORYTELLERS! :D

Eternia endures - comics, films, toys spanning a good couple of decades of popularity. Don't know how popular it is now though. But how can you not love a character called 'Ram man'.

Or, better yet, the greatest fantasy film of all time - Krull (Hawk the Slayer is shit).

Quote from: Zachary The First;366533As a card-carrying member of the Kitchen Sink Coalition, I approve this message.

That link is worth a look! Hilarious read!

Quote from: Ghost WhistlerSome kind of gonzo infantile genre mash
But god help me, I don't care!

See, now you're talking rock and roll. Turn it up to 11 and mash that shit up with a big spoon! See what kind of undreamed of masterpiece or unholy racket you can make. Color it lush and then slap on a big coat of cool. No fucking half-measures. Why be Phil Collins when you can be Sun Ra, am I right?

P.S. Just speaking personally, you won't write gonzo unless you're willing to live gonzo, at least sometimes. What doesn't kill you will make for more interesting reading.

In honor of this thread, I give you...

Raistlin and Hero in Hyrule: A Love Story...

Quote from: Kellri;366660See, now you're talking rock and roll. Turn it up to 11 and mash that shit up with a big spoon! See what kind of undreamed of masterpiece or unholy racket you can make. Color it lush and then slap on a big coat of cool. No fucking half-measures. Why be Phil Collins when you can be Sun Ra, am I right?

P.S. Just speaking personally, you won't write gonzo unless you're willing to live gonzo, at least sometimes. What doesn't kill you will make for more interesting reading.

Not sure about the last part but space is indeed the place.