What the hell is this? Awesome, that's what.
So, today's post isn't going to be very long or insightful, 'cause I've got Rogues and Traders to write about. I've got something on my mind though, and that's the time-honored tradition of the mash-up.
I love a good mash-up. I love the juxtaposition of disparate settings or technologies or ideas to make something new. That's why I made AEGIS vs. SPIDER. It's why I like the idea of robbing a train with a goddamned spaceship and why I will always love
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. I mean, it's
Cadillacs! And
Dinosaurs! That's an awesome story that writes itself. A well done mash-up, like Firefly, can make you look at some careworn ideas, say space opera and western serials, in a new light. Getting your flavors mixed, as it were, stretches the creative muscles and presents previously unknown questions and answers to game masters and writers alike. So tell me, Gentle Readers, what are your favorite mash-ups? What do you like in a good one, and which ones do you think have failed miserably?
PS: I'll probably expand on this at a later date, but right now, seriously, I've got deadlines to keep.
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7 comments:
Cyberpunk mixed with Magic in Shadowrun made for an awesome setting. However, I never really cared for the mix of magic and sci-fi in the later Final Fantasy games.
You sure you're not thinking of mash-ups because of Rogue Trader? ;-)
I'm not saying it is, I'm just saying if you look on the front cover you see Blackbeard and his loyal crew in space.
But honestly, I'd have a hard time choosing between that and Firefly, because that show pushes all the right buttons for me.
@Matt: You mentioned Final Fantasy, and I have to respectfully disagree with you there. At least until FFIX, each of the different worlds fascinated me. They all make me ask the same question, "What happened here?"
Sam, I'd be remiss if I didn't give props to Rogue Trader for being, essentially, the age of sail, in space, with macrobatteries. It's probably why mash-ups were on my mind.
:-)
In regards to Final Fantasy, maybe that should be a future blog topic?
My favourite trope or genre mashup? Colonial Africa and Space Opera to make Colonial Africa in space with lasers.
They have this thing on our coffee machines at work called a mochaccino. It's hot chocolate + coffee. So tasty!
Speaking of hot chocolate, check out "Single Ladies in Mayberry" on youtube for a completely different kind of mashup goodness. There are some musical mashups I don't particularly care for, like Snoop Dogg + Led Zeppelin, but many of them are pretty cool.
FFVII was awesome. I think I took 40 hours or so to play through the main story, but I could have spent way longer messing around with all the various mini-games. A dude with a machinegun for an arm summoning a dragon to burn his enemies FTW!
Firefly definitely takes the typical sci-fi frontier feeling and colonization of other worlds into a recognizable place with it's old west values and themes. I love it. You really don't think about how well those two things can mesh until you've seen it.
I would call Rifts a mash-up, but lately I've just been thinking of it as mashed up. Rogue Trader floats it pretty well.
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