What’s On The Shelf: New Show, Great Format, Endless Opportunity

This Saturday I had the privilege of watching What’s On The Shelf, presented by Brendan Conway, an Indie+ affiliate. Using the Hollowpoint RPG system, Brendan and his fellows acted out a supernatural scene that would have made Constantine proud. Aside from the excellent story told during the session, which I encourage you to experience for yourself, I’d like to discuss the format of the show and take this opportunity to talk about my vision for a new use for roleplaying sessions.

The show is broken up in to:

     An introduction of:

o   The Players

o   The System

o   The Setting

·         Character creation

·                   A play session

·                   A period for reflection with show format specific questions, such as:

o   What was your least favorite thing about the system

o   What was the most interesting thing about the system

o   Why would this game be on your shelf?

This is a great format for introducing people to a new school RPG system, as well as showing the whole process of learning the game from square one. As a person that dedicates lots of time to learning new systems, this broadcast allowed me to add a new game to my mental bookshelf without having to do a ton of digging on the Internet for rules and examples (thank you Fair Use limitation.) I can see this show also following the Tabletop show factor. As the show gains popularity, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a marked increase in the download and sale of the systems shared in this show.

When I watch sessions like this I often ask myself “Why isn’t someone taking these stories to the next level through comic, animation, or multimedia mediums?” My only answer is that it’s because most gaming groups don’t have the required talents or knowledge to make that happen. Part of my mission is to use role playing sessions as the seed which can bring forth new intellectual properties such as the settings, characters, and stories explored by artists which partner with the players.

As anyone in the entertainment industry can tell you, or by looking at the massive walls of credits at the end of a feature film, it takes massive collaboration and coordination to pull off what I am proposing. I think that every group’s situation will be unique, and that the art created could be something as simple as a few pages of a comic, to a full-length feature film. My real vision is to do my best in bringing all these pieces together and create a New Fiction Renaissance, fueled by RPGs both new and old.

Do you think your game would translate in to amazing entertainment? Leave a comment if you're interested in getting in touch with others to make some magic happen.

Gamers United!

Cavin “Pox” DeJordy

WotS: Hollowpoint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM_E9PSyQ0o

Tabletop (Geek & Sundry) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mxPFHBCfuU&list=PL4F80C7D2DC8D9B6C