From a game designers point of view, is steampunk required in modern day western style RPGs to be popular? As a player do you prefer it?

I don't think it is. Steampunk is a gimmick and an overused one. From a design stand point, making a game without Steampunk elements is easier than one with. Watch some classic westerns. Read some history. Find stuff that is interesting and engaging. Make a base game without it, you can always glue some gears on it later.

Maybe not Steampunk specifically, but if I were playing a wild west game, I'd at least want something fantastical to spice it up. But then, I'm not interested in running/playing historical games in the first place.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;1044110Maybe not Steampunk specifically, but if I were playing a wild west game, I'd at least want something fantastical to spice it up. But then, I'm not interested in running/playing historical games in the first place.

what I'm working on will definitely have something fantastical to spice it up, was just curious about the steampunk elements that seem to be popular (and I agree, it is an overused gimmick).

For me steampunk, weird science or alternate timeline stuff are all reasons to NOT look into a western game. I can live with an occasional subtle horror element thrown in but basically prefer a pure western game to a gimmicky one. However, I get the impression such additions are almost a necessity from a commerical point of view.

The 'punk' part of steampunk strikes me as a weak fit for Westerns, at least the sort I enjoy. I'm not sure it sees much use in a lot of what people call steampunk, anyway.

The 'steam' part is already present in the technology of the middle and late 19th Century. Do Babbage-type computers really add that much? Airships might make play less interesting if travel becomes fast, easy, and safe over long distances and away from rail lines (and trains are easier to rob).

Quote from: Ewan;1044232The 'steam' part is already present in the technology of the middle and late 19th Century. Do Babbage-type computers really add that much? Airships might make play less interesting if travel becomes fast, easy, and safe over long distances and away from rail lines (and trains are easier to rob).

Trains are steam. They're steamed up. They are also the best way to "railroad" the party.

Quote from: Krimson;1044233Trains are steam. They're steamed up. They are also the best way to "railroad" the party.

Agreed.

Trains> airships, for Westerns.

Quote from: NYTFLYR;1044091From a game designers point of view, is steampunk required in modern day western style RPGs to be popular? As a player do you prefer it?

I don't see why. Aces & Eights was one of the most popular Western RPGs, and it has no steampunk.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;1044110Maybe not Steampunk specifically, but if I were playing a wild west game, I'd at least want something fantastical to spice it up. But then, I'm not interested in running/playing historical games in the first place.

Same, but I have no issues with Steampunk, though.

I don't think so, straight Westerns still seem to do ok as movies / TV. I think a straight historical western would do just fine as an RPG assuming it was good.

I think Steampunk western seems to be more of a thing in gaming because it allows the setting to be unique. With a more historically accurate setting it comes down to the quality of material and rules, both of which have been done well a number of times.

Setting material is as easy as picking up Time-Life's The Old West series on ebay, watching classic westerns and reading western history so most don't games get too heavy into that. Without some alt history / tech that pretty much just leaves the rules as a major selling point.  


What could be interesting for a game trying to stand out would be a western game that spends more time outside of the traditional post civil war era southwest. Maybe the 1850s running around Kansas and Missouri, or out in California's gold fields or the Republic of Texas 1836-1845. Or very late, how about the Mexico / US border in 1915 with possible spill over from the Mexican Revolution and WW1.    


So no I don't think Steampunk is required, just some creative use of reality to make the game fun.

one more question... how important is it to include historic figures into the mix? (Jesse James, Billy the Kid, etc.?)

Quote from: NYTFLYR;1046130one more question... how important is it to include historic figures into the mix? (Jesse James, Billy the Kid, etc.?)

It seems like this is one of those things without a good answer. I expect when included they are rarely used because there are major issues with using real historical figures and named characters in fantasy. At best they are interesting cameo appearances and that really doesn't require stats.

On the other hand leaving them out will probably lead to complaints.

If you are looking at an actual non-alt history western, I'd think it would be good to include the details of such figures, but I wouldn't think it was necessary to stat them out beyond a basic write up of their general demeanor. Meeting Billy the Kid in a bar could be an amusing encounter, having a gun fight with him seems unproductive.

I don't think you need to have steam in there really... But from a personal perspective, I'd prefer some kind of weirdness. Maybe like the way Colonial Gothic did it with adding Horror, witchery, and Lovecraftian elements.

But if you had an engaging GM I'd also be pretty happy to play the old spaghetti western stuff straight up.

So, basically the original TV series Wild, Wild West. It had a host of steampunk & spy gadgets. I heart it immensely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Wild_West