I've been itching to adapt TSOY to my image of Final Fantasy for quite a while. I got to run it last weekend at Go Play South East (GPSE for the acronym inclined). I consider it a rampant success, but it had some issues as well.
First of all, my files for my four characters are here. If you can't view them, let me know. Sort by date, I just added the files today. Every character has a PDF and XLS file.
Premise - Side Quests "If you've ever played certain Console RPGs, you know that just before the final stage/fight with the Big Boss, you have this period of time where you can finish pursuing Side Quests - little scenarios where you can flesh out the character relationships or get Ultimate Weapons. This is a game entirely of Side Quests."
Basically, I proposed a game where the badass fantasy characters already have a history (and, if they want, the audience already knows the outcome of certain events) and before the final boss want to 'get the most story' out of the game. I set this up as every character as being a teenager in love, or wanting to be in love. Scenes were to be framed as dates, large and small.
So, what worked? Well, everyone at the table had a passing knowledge of Final Fantasy, and the experienced players got the Easter Eggs I'd hidden. The players seemed enthused about the whole premise. I think the players were (again) impressed with the sheets (thanks Jason!) and with the images as a starting point (I say again, because this worked well for my Dungeon Crawl scenario). Also, possibly counter-intuitive to the all male demographic, every player seemed to be more than okay with the concept of going on dates with each other.
What didn't work? How to phrase this delicately ... me. I had all the wrong ideas about how to bring this puppy to life. Luckily, the players were on top of it and brought it all to awesome glory. Specifically, I tried to add emphasis to scenes by creating (and initiating!) Bringing Down the Pain. Also, I thought I'd help us all out by telling everyone that the 'game authors' had liberally mined mythology for the various parts of the game. Unfortunately, this became a collar for me and I faltered when coming up with new scenes or describing NPCs.
Overall, I really enjoyed the game. A huge gala/ball in the Crystal Palace on the moon became an emergent focus for us and it worked really well. I really enjoyed all the contributions the players made. I ad-libbed a corruption mechanic during end-play and Transcendence came with a price. Players created some really neat Keys and played the ones I had with awesome results. Key of the Impostor (Love) is freakin' six-element mana on Atlantean toast.
To my players: Please post your thoughts! I love this concept so much I'd like it to come to a document.
Things I'm curious about: What didn't happen that you wanted to see (and what stopped you from taking the game there)? Did TSOY feel like the right system for the game?
To the readers: Please post your comments! I take criticism poorly and will hunt you down am eager to answer any questions you might have!
Things I'm curious about: Given the premise, what would you have expected to see in a game like that? Do you know of any games where love is even more critically defined than TSOY?
Overall a sounding success, Mark! Another game where love is critically defined (but not necessarily even more) than TSoY is the Artesia RPG. I'll try to round up information about the role of love in Artesia, but in short let's say that:
in the life path character generation, love usually is bitter (or bitter-sweet); this was a conscious choice by the author because he felt that pursuing and finding love is better suited to be handled in-game.
there is a host of mechanical pieces that handle love as a game-effect (you can get XP for giving gifts out of love; get roll modifiers when acting against the person you love, or when you do things to nurture your love or loved one's interests). True Love is one of the biggest advantages one can get in the game (but it requires a second character also being in true love).
on top of that, trying to overcome one-sided love is a great motivator, and also is rewarded by the experience system.
also, there is a distinction between love and marriage (which can easily be in conflict); and to decide for one or the other is a way to further shape your character. Getting pregnant, bearing children and raising them is something that is considered in the game beyond the pregnancy rules.