I recently became aware of a Scandinavian translation of a reportedly grim and dark fantasy RPG called Symbaroum. After a little research I was hooked. The atmosphere put forth by the author and the artwork included fairly dripped with the somber, menacing ambience promised. As a big fan of this kind of gaming I ordered a copy right away and began my typical hunt for all things connected with it - reviews, modules, expansions, adventures, fan based stuff etc. and this before my copy even arrived.
This hunt led me to the welcome discovery of a few recorded game sessions on Youtube. Thrilled I sat back to watch how some other gamers plunged into this gritty, morbid and corrupt world of ancient mystery and evils and harsh, gloomy survival. The result?
The GM and his players did a pretty good job of recreating The Brady Bunch on vacation in Symbaroum. Continuous joking, silly references, modern approaches to game encounters, ridiculous NPC portrayals etc. (A wagoner was depicted as a Kentucky hillbilly) did their very best to completely lose the flavor of the game. The GM would read some very effective descriptive paragraphs only to follow with some jovial, ridiculous follow up. The effect was nauseating.
Now Ive seen this type of thing before where players and sometimes even the GM seem to completely ignore the intended ambience of a certain game, and I suppose as long as they all share in this desire to defile the experience the author intended that's fine. Its their game afterall but I have to wonder. Why play a GRIM, DARK, SOMBER, SERIOUS, GRITTY game with the approach of a Saturday morning cartoon. (Do they even still exist?)
The internet is full of such transgressions and it never fails to amaze me. Now before someone goes off and calls me a grumbling old kill joy, I understand the occasional light moment in any game. A little comic relief is almost necessary and is a staple in most dramas be they movies, books or a game... but that's not what Im talking about and you all know it. When a supposedly dark, austere and gloomy game is played in same way as a Dungeons and Dragons the animated series episode one has to wonder WTF?
So the question is... what is wrong (right) with these people? Why do they pick a game with an atmosphere so obviously counter to their group's personality? How can you not feel just a little guilty for dancing all over an author's clearly evident intentions for his work?