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Biggest act of RPG Nerdom

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:20 pm
by Joe_Mello
You know that there's been at least one instance where your RPG brethen had to/have to be going "Dude WTF," but in a good way, so I figure we could compare our nerdiest acts.

For me, I was going to say that having a soundboard (a la radio or Mad Money) would be nerdy enough, despite getting lots of use in other games, but that has been replaced.

Today, I found an endtheme for my OVA marching band/sentai campaign. I condensed it to make a "TV Version" and plan to roll credits via Powerpoint when the sessions end.

(Fwiw, it's "Ordinary Day" by Great Big Sea. The OP is "Sasuraibito" which opened Zoids: Zero)

Re: Biggest act of RPG Nerdom

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:24 am
by JuddG
Joe_Mello wrote:Today, I found an endtheme for my OVA marching band/sentai campaign. I condensed it to make a "TV Version" and plan to roll credits via Powerpoint when the sessions end.
I have picked an opening theme for a game recently (that was supposed to be a TV Show anyway), and would have done a flash opening credits for it had I the talent. I have been making lots of prop handouts, etc for games lately (cutePDF has turned me into a prop madman!)

I have never tried using a sound effects board or one of those sound effects CDs - mainly because I wouldn't be able to manage them well. I do recall that the TableMaster people once made a soundboard for game sound effects.

Mostly, I apparently make my own using my mimicry skills...

After a game once upon a time, my girlfriend at the time said she wouldn't make a good gamer because she couldn't make all "the needed noises". I asked what she meant and she pointed out that our whole group made these foley noises when we announced actions - things like sword swings, microphone crackles on comms, droid beeps, gunfire, and spellcasting sounds. We just didn't think about it at the time, but she was an outside observer and that is what hit her - how we made our own soundtrack.

I think my most geeky thing is making little asides and funny cameos in games. For a session of the second season of Never Home, the opening scene was as follows:

"Pan down from the full moon to a temple site. A old, mummified wizard stands on a marble temple roof with green flames burning in torches all around him. In the flickering torch-light, the camera pans up to his face, showing the starry night behind him as he raises his hands aloft. The carved statues surrounding him seem to leer as the light flickers over them - or is this but a trick of the light? Magic stills the air and the stars themselves seem to lean in to hear his entreaty.

"His voice, deeper than expected given his small frame and mummified lips, booms as he incants, 'Ancient Spirits of Evil, lend me your powers, changing this ancient husk into Mum-R...ahhhhhhhh!'

"Pan down to follow the mummy's plummet into the vine pit at the top of the temple. After the mummy is consumed by the thorny vines moving below, the camera pans back up to two stickmen, one who has obviously just pushed the mummy in and the other a Stickboss checking off an item on a clipboard. Close up on the Stickboss.

"'OK,' he says, 'that was the last one. I guess it's time for the shift change.' Pan away to..."

Re: Biggest act of RPG Nerdom

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:22 pm
by Joe_Mello
JuddG wrote:I have picked an opening theme for a game recently (that was supposed to be a TV Show anyway), and would have done a flash opening credits for it had I the talent. I have been making lots of prop handouts, etc for games lately (cutePDF has turned me into a prop madman!)

I have never tried using a sound effects board or one of those sound effects CDs - mainly because I wouldn't be able to manage them well. I do recall that the TableMaster people once made a soundboard for game sound effects.
It does help when the soundmaster is not the GM. Anyway, what I have is a collection of ecclectic game show sounds, miscellaneous wavs I find/convert on the internet, and Powerpoint's in-house sounds. When I'm not in the game (since I can actually play around with my laptop) I'm big on ambient noise, whether that's SFX or atmospheric music.. This year, I think Okami is going be breaking out on most of the "pre-modern" games (eg Exalted, D&D)

Additionally, I just cut up another OP/ED combo. Aside from being a tme-killer, it's a fun challenge because you have to condense a 3-4 minute song into 90 seconds without completely maiming it. And yes, I would love to do a Flash animated OP/ED, too, if I had the chops. I even have a breif idea of how to do the 1st ED.

/OP2-"Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto," Polysics
ED2-"Remind Me," Royksopp (aka that song from the Geico adverts)
//No way in hell that I get enough sessions to use a 2nd pair of songs.