What effect have movies had on your Traveller campaigns or characters?

[Evo Plurion]

A big one for me was the Alien films. The tone of our Traveller and 2300AD campaigns got nasty, creepy and cynical when those movies came out. More importantly, I suspect that many young GMs at the time learned to emphasize the vastness and loneliness of space.

 

[kafka47]

Star Wars, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series, Doctor Who all played into my Traveller Campaign and to a much lesser extent Star Trek (but the Wraith of Khan stands out) were all influences on my Traveller Campaigns in the early days. As things migrated, I found myself more influenced by official GDW/DGP views.

As a latercomer to 2300AD, the early Aliens films were a big inspiration, as well. But, I was more influenced by Science Fiction traditions of other countries like the original Soviet Solaris or Star Cops from the BBC. I liked the International flavour of different nationalities coming to work together and against one another that the early game protrayed. Then as the game progressed it got too Americocentric or Texas centred for my tastes in Challenge. The articles on Italy & the South American Foundation stand out as some of the best, although, my conception of the Twilight War was sketchy at best.

Now, I am waiting for a Science Fiction film that would be inspired by these games. Firefly came close my conception but still some of the Independent Star Wars films feel more Traveller than the Lucas megaproductions. So long live the independents and to all you young Gamers out there...hurry up and grow up and make a film that will make Papa proud.

 

[Jadawin]

Movies? Well, with 2300 there's actually quite a few:

Alien (and its sequels)
Outland
Saturn 3
Starship Troopers

Its NOVELS that have influenced my various Traveller-oriented games...

 

[jwdh71]

kafka47 said:

Then as the game progressed it got too Americocentric or Texas centred for my tastes in Challenge.

Hey no such thing as being too Texas centered!!!

 

[Flynn]

Ah concur, pardner.

For coming from such a humble state, we Texans are sometimes a proud people. Ah, Texas, the biggest nation in the United States! (Depending on who you talk to, anyway...)

I've lived outside of Texas for five months, and moved back as quickly as I could.

Morale of the story: Never move for a woman.
Corollary: Is there any other reason?

Now, let's return to your regularly scheduled thread, already in progress...
Flynn

 

[Jadawin]

In my 2300 game, Texans were known as a largely wealthy, yet arrogant bunch still well under the yoke of the United States.

 

[Flynn]

Sad to say, but I know people that fit that description...

Enjoy,
Flynn

 

[kafka47]

Well, I know a great number of great Texans and know what kind warm hearted people they can be. But, if you look over the design notes and early articles in Challenge 2300 was more of an International milieu.

Asking what's wrong with being too Texan centred is like replaying the joke Bill Cosby had when he figured all wars ought to fought like in a football referee's coin toss. With Texas being the hapless General Custer & the rest of the world being Indians.

Anyhow, back to the thread indeed...

Thought of a few more...for 2300

Enemy Mine
BAT 21 is Down
Platoon and the whole host of phony Vietnam films
Johnny Memotronic
Mad Max 2 & 3 (for some frontier worlds)
Nightfall (save, made the inhabitants aliens)

Traveller

Space 1999
The Black Hole
Blake's Seven
Battlestar Galatica

 

[Shadowdancer]

I've often used movies for inspiration for characters in all of the RPGs I've played, not just Traveller. But the choices aren't always from the obvious films (films in the same genre as the RPG).

For example, in Flynn's FtF campaign I'm playing in, my character is based on the document forger played by Mira Sorvino in the movie "The Replacement Killers." Not a science fiction movie, but the character -- with some adaptations -- makes a fine Rogue character in Traveller. I even used the plot of the movie for a part of her background story.

Since most of my Traveller gaming experience has been as Ref instead of player, I've often used movie characters for NPCs. Faye Valentine from "Cowboy Bebop" was the inspiration for a major NPC in the last game I ran. Quentin Tarantino's movies are full of quirky characters which make good NPCs, especially if the PCs find themselves involved in breaking the law, or even bending it some.

I've played many D&D characters which were based on film characters, but not characters from fantasy films. I once played a half-ogre fighter based on the character Mongo from "Blazing Saddles."

 

[jwdh71]

We used to do something in our RPG's that we called PMB (Played in the Movie By). We would pick an actor, and a film that that actor was in, and use that as quick shorthand for the personality and appearance of the PCs, and the major NPCs as well. I used Dolph Lundgren from Universal Soldier for a Solomani Clone Trooper I played in one game, Andy Garcia from Godfather III in a criminal game, and Gene Hackman in Poseidon Adventure as the basis for a cleric I played in a AD&D game. It was a very effective technique for quick characterizations.

 

[parmasson]

The German submarine movie "The Boat" frequently makes stylistic appearances. I frequently refer to the interior of an Tech 11 scout ship as feeling like the interior of an old submarine.

Outland continues to influence my games for style.

2010: The look of the Russian ship was something that I used too.

 

[Pickles]

Ah, Das Boot - classic inspiration for my ship interiors, too. Having just returned from Hamburg and a trip (read: crawl) through their 1976 Soviet museum submarine U-434, I suspect that things are only going to get more claustrophobic IMTU ...

Alien/Aliens had a big effect on my earlier campaigns. Now, my main inspiration is more along the lines of THX1138 and Blakes 7, for a more dystopian, bleak and authoritarian TU.

 

[Liam Devlin]

Hmmm. Good topic! Influenced and effects on MTU...As we haven't specified, I will include TV*, and Anime DVDs** as well.

perhaps if I broke it down by what, when where and how?

For Corporate aspects Good and Bad:
the 'Aliens' series of movies;
Outland [of course];
Total Recall [corporate greed & Security troops];
Paycheck [corporate espionage];
Johnny Mnemonic[corporate espionage];
5th Element[corporate greed & Security troops];
Babylon 5*;
Firefly*;
Cowboy Bebop**;
Outlaw Star**;
Ghost in the Shell**;
The Predator series movies;
and Blade Runner.

For scenes in High Populated worlds [crowded arcologies-mega cities]:
Blade Runner;
Johnny Mnemonic;
Cowboy Bebop**;
Outlaw Star**;
Ghost in the shell**;
Star Wars episodes 1-3 [Coruscant in particular];
5th Element;
and Heavy Metal I** [Taxicab storyy in particular].

For Military SF scenery and scenes:
Das Boot;
U-571;
In Enemy Hands;
The Enemy down Below;
Starship Troopers 1 & 2;
Babylon-5**;
Star Wars [Episodes 1-6];
Aliens II;
A host of vintage war films from medieval to Desert storm era.. just to cover TL-2 thru 8!

For the Aliens in SF:

Babylon-5*;
Star Wars 1-6 [I find can live without the Ewoks though];
Star Trek*, ST NG*, ST Voyager*;Deep Space 9*; [although MTU doesn't have dna compatibility like Rodenberry's with every species out there];
Aliens;
and Predator.


For Small ship-traveller, or the 'crew stands against all comers':
Firefly*;
Cowboy Bebop**;
Outlaw Star**;
Titan AE**;
Star Wars 4-5, the Millenium Falcon;
Red Planet;
and Event Horizon.

Action-crime-drama films I peruse for Rogues and law-breaking stuff, too numerous to mention, but the criminal & legal/Law enforcement aspects of the above listed films and series also fall into this category and thus do not bear repeating.