Bob, your writings never cease to inspire me - and I'm sure many others!  So
much of what you've got down here is the stuff of the novellist, I wonder, have
you written any/many books?

I never gave thought to how I play my own solo games, in that I have a certain
amount of what you call "darker & edgier", though not for me orcs and aliens,
but I get your drift.  In my Darkest Africa "quest" - (two gritty businessmen
plus their families and servants, a couple of "white-hunter" types, and a
couple more odd characters they've picked up on the way; all together on a
journey to find a mountain pygmy tribe who specialise in making highly prized
exotic goods that these Victorian businessmen reckon wil go down a storm in the
big London stores) - the rain-forest weather plays havoc with daily trudge, and
the nocturnal sounds of the jungle begin to unnerve the ladies, making one panic
and, deranged, run off into the night... the search for her the next day
produced a terrible incident when one of the search parties bumped into a family
of tetchy gorillas and their powerful Silverback male!

I guess another dark and edgy incident was soon after the party left the safety
of the river-boat, for the first time landing them deep inside the Dark
Continent, and all except the white-hunters had never seen Africa before, in
it's raw, native, state, with its flies and smells, and surly-silent villagers,
mis-trustful of the white-men, but wanting their exchange-goods. But just as
these novice explorers were adjusting their tight collars to the heat, and the
ladies were gasping at the nakedness of the villagers, out of a hut there came
an old-hag tribal witchdoctor galloping towards them with an unnatural,
all-fours gait, her painted body and fearsome facemask, who suddenly screamed at
them and ran circles around the party, wailing incantations and drawing many
formidable looking, spear-armed, warriors from out of the village huts.  These
men then made an impenetrable wall of dark-skinned sinew and spears, chanting as
they came a song which seemed
to flow like the rush of storm-water down the river, in waves that crashed upon
the ears of the white people - frightening them all until, with a shrill blast
from the river-boat's whistle, the boat's Captain shouted "that's enough, now,
Mebonkers, woman!  Let the nice people pass...!"  And with a demonic cackle
and a backward roll the witchdoctor called "Mebonkers" was gone and the warriors
broke ranks with broad grins and laughter!

Is that what you call "dark and edgy"?  Or too "novello"?... but whatever, I
love your ideas and will put many into the rest of this African "quest"!
Captain Squib


________________________________
From: Bob Stewart <rstewart@...>
To: SoloWarGame@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, 5 January, 2009 15:59:20
Subject: [SoloWarGame] Darker and Edgier Solo Wargames


What Are We Looking For Here?
There are lots of Solo Wargames articles that seem to focus most of
their rule-comments and design-time on the combat element, and why
not? That's the main appeal of wargamers, right? But we tend to spend
comparatively little effort on improving the flavor of the arena that
the armies fight in. While that's not a bad thing, we can get a whole
lot more out of the time we spend doing Solo Wargaming, if we improve
on how we generate the tactile feel of the surroundings themselves.

Take any combat games that work with the new gaming consoles, and
compare them to older versions, and one of the first things that
leaps out is the new 3-D near-movie-quality of the "sets" (note 1).
Darker and Edgier means the difference between the future-world
bunker-scenes and the clean card-board sets of Star Trek (note 2).
Decay and chaos are rampant. The fight scenes are a lot more graphic,
too. And there are ways that Solo Wargamers can approximate this same
quantum-leap in story-line impact --- read on.

What Makes a Wargame Darker and Edgier?
There are a number of mechanics that writers (and set designers) use
to tweak a genre, and we are going to have a look at some of them, as
they could apply to Solo Wargames. In no particular order, these
themes include: a sense of being watched or preyed on; using weather
as a common method of imparting a sense of gloom and doom; there are
lots of bad omens that come up, more often than chance would suggest.
When we take a look at what we feel, taste or smell, then we just
KNOW that the orcs or similar bad-guys are around here when things
turn sour; Bad things happen to nice people; wrinkles abound, and we
never seem to be able to let down our guard --- can't sleep, always
worries, treachery surrounds us. The arena and the main guys are both
becoming worn, frayed, and gritty. The protagonists feel they may not
be able to cope.

What is NOT Darker and Edgier
Darker and edgier doesn't automatically mean depressing or drenched
in buckets of blood and gore. And ominous doesn't have to be
psychotic, nor does it have to be a complete downer. And that's part
of the challenge of finding the right balance in our wargaming, to
get Darker and Edgier without turning other readers completely off.
To some degree we find the elements of D & E in a score or more of
great novels, as well as hundreds of top-rated films, and the "mood"
is still done tastefully enough to be accepted as great works of art.

Applying a Dash of Spice, Not Heavy Sauce
The important thing is to use this Darker and Edgier as a thin layer
of spice to our stories, and not slather it on like some thick sauce
that we have to wade through. Too much sauce-slathering, and the tale
becomes boring and overdone. Towards that end, we might make use of
only 2 of the list of D & E (Darker and Edgier) items that we've
developed, as the chosen spice for any given episode or scene that we
are now working on. We can literally "choose" the spice using die
rolls or card-pulls. Later we can even expand this into separate
lists for all 13 spice-items, and then use a second pull from that
deck of cards to draw the specific elements to play with.

And we need to vary the spices used, from one episode to the next, so
we don't have the same things emphasized again and again. Spices are
at their best when they tease the taste-buds in alternate rotations.

Alternating Tastes
Sometimes the Dark and Edgy theme can be reinforced with a dash of
comedy, as the complementary taste. This can take the form of an anti-
hero (note 3) or something funny-out-of- context that takes our focus
off the Dark-n-Edgy for a minute, before the next scary crescendo
comes crashing down (note 4). Constant increasing pressure isn't as
scary as a saw-tooth slow advance in pressure, that lets up a notch,
then it advances the pressure by two notches.

1. You Feeling like Prey Being Watched
We can't quite put our finger on it, but we feel like we're being
watched by something or someone with bad intent. Maybe it's just a
trick of the light, or the flicker out of the corner of an over-tired
eye. If we DO spot the flash of a watcher, by the time we get to
their look-out post, there may be nothing but faint tracks. Or we get
there in a rush, only to find it's just a wild animal of some sort.
Or that the clues left are too mussed up to read.

There is an overwhelming sense of dire urgency, as if we have to run
to get away from something (note 5). The signal's gone out --- they
know we're here. And they are coming for us. Even when we get some
break, we have this sense that things are closing in on us.

2. Weather as a Reflection of the God's Anger and Woes
As the campaign unfolds, the Chaos level increases and the
threatening weather closes in on us. The higher the Chaos levels, the
more freakish the weather is. Not necessarily right at our feet, but
sometimes right across the valley, or right behind us --- almost as
if threatening us, and simultaneously sweeping us along. If we get
any kind of a break, it feels like the calm between the freakish
weather fronts. Or that electrically charged feeling before a
thunderstorm.

3. Bad Omens
It's the little unfortunate things that don't bode well. We slip and
break our favorite cup; our prized dagger gets a serious nick on its
supposedly impervious edge; we see a human skeleton at the side of
the trail and we can't help but feel it's grinning at us. Our lucky
talisman is lost or broken. We find a useful object like a shield,
only to discover it has a hidden-but-fatal flaw, perhaps the leather
grip is rotted half-through.

Bad omens may take the form of indecipherable writing or clues, that
don't look friendly. Scalps, piles of skulls, signs of torture or
painful death, ciphers that suggest witchcraft.

4. Sour Senses
There's a faint sulfurous smell about the valley we are in; the air
seems polluted; the water tainted. Nothing that's quite bad enough
that it prevents us from proceeding --- just mildly ominous. Bunions
and teeth tend to ache; the stomach is churning for want of decent
food; old war wounds seem to act up, to ooze and throb. Nothing we
can't overcome, but they all take their impact on our alertness and
judgment.

We can "smell" the fear --- not just the stink of unwashed bodies,
although that is bad enough to cause us to breath through our mouths.
Fear has its own peculiar aroma, feramones that trigger alarm across
species.

5. Bad Things Happen
The wild hawk we've been watching is itself attacked and driven off;
the last of our meager hardtack is totally infested with bugs; the
patch on our canteen gives out, and half our water has seeped away.
The campaign mutt has abandoned us and disappeared. And bad things
happen to good people --- our buddy contracts gangrene and falls by
the wayside; a likeable scout gets mauled by some roaming predator.

There is a sense that anyone can meet a bitter end out here, and that
the best training, conditioning, and watchfulness are not enough to
guarantee survival.

6. Wrinkles Abound
We can't sleep, and our companions all have baggy red-rimmed eyes; we
know we look like death warmed over, too. Our sleek fighting trim is
reduced to haggard ropy muscle and bone. Feet are covered in sores;
wounds won't heal right We are reeling with hunger and fatigue; when
our eyes close we see pinwheels of purple neon behind our eyelids.

There is a sense of depletion of energies, close to or beyond the
ability to get "there" and get back.

7. Worn, Frayed and Gritty
It's much harder to play the hero when the shiny uniform is reduced
to nothing but rags. It's harder to keep up the pace when your sandal
strap is broken, and needs constant attention. The fresh linen has
been used up for bandages, and the blood still seeps through in
spots. The once-proud army is slowly but inexorably reduced to a
column of broken and limping bandaged-up scarecrows.

There is a pervasive stink of fear and long-unwashed bodies. There
are more walking-wounded than fit.

8. Inability to Cope
This could be acknowledging superior numbers, or an enemy's size, or
his better technology, or just our own dread of the unknown. We sense
that the enemy can take any of us at will. Each step feels like our
last, and we don't know if we can keep up with the column for more
than another 100 steps.

The sniveler in the column won't quit with his whining. The little
man in the back of our head is screaming at us that he doesn't want
to die.

9. Friends Need Help
Bad enough when we find it hard to cope, but when friends and
companions look positively yellow, and start to fall by the wayside,
and say that they are at the point of giving up because they can't go
on without help, then that taxes our strength and determination that
much more. And the pressure is worse when they are reduced to
communicating with a look, because they are too far gone to talk any
more.

There but for the grace of the gods, go I.

10. The Gods Seem to Have Abandoned Us
In the final indignity, it feels like the very gods of war have
finally turned their backs and abandoned us. In a moment of calm, we
pray to Utu, and the heavens split with peals of thunder.

We ask for a sign, but we hear nothing but the whistle of the wind.

J. Last Letters and Testaments
Part of the process of saying goodbye is resigning yourself to never
seeing family or friends again. Whether that consists of a log entry,
or passing an heirloom to a friend to give to your wife or son, or
writing that last letter home, these are all signs of desperate times
being at hand.

Q. Optimizing Defensive Weapons
Sharing rounds or arrows among the survivors, detailing the most fit
for the physically demanding tasks, and shoving the least fit into
the best defensive positions are all indicators of impending doom. As
is the plea to take care of the company mutt, or asking someone to go
visit our favorite place in our stead.

K. The Last Forlorn Call for Help
Whether it's and electronic message, or someone sent over the walls
of a besieged position, the last gasp in defense is sending for help,
and has always meant the end is near. Totally used up, and ready to
keel over.

A. They're Coming
And the final note, the last entry, is traditionally when we say "I
have to stop; they're coming back …" Whether or not there is ever
another page written.

Building the Lists
Lists rarely come together in one inspired effort. We want to develop
each of these areas into lists of similar omens, so that we can draw
a card (or roll a dice) for which two lists we will take, and then
roll within that list for the representative element to be used this
time. It's not a bad plan to add ideas on the fly, new thoughts that
haven't been used before, until we fully populate the lists.

Why Bother With Darker and Edgier?
Anyone can be a hero on a warm sunny day. But when the weight of the
world, and fate, seem to conspire against us, and whittle away at our
resolve, hour by hour, over days and even weeks, that's when you are
tested to the max. That's what set Spartan endurance above what the
Athenians could bear.

Notes:
Note 1 Like Halo versus the earlier Nintendo shoot-em-ups from 10
years back
Note 2: Compare "Terminator, the Sara Connor Chronicles", and the
earlier "Deep Space 9"
Note 3: Think about the whiner in Aliens, with his "We're all gonna
die!"
Note 4: Someone tells Ripley in Aliens "I thought you were dead!?" to
which the comic-relief snappy reply was "I get that a lot"
Note 5: Think of the Lord of the Rings with the Orcs in pursuit of
the 9 ring-companions.






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