summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2012-01-15 09:07 am
summercomfort) wrote2012-01-15 09:07 am
宝石装甲レゾネター (Houseki Souhou REZONETAA)
So yesterday we finally started that PTA game of 80s sci-fi/mecha anime that we'd planned back in OCTOBER. Man.
So, firstly, The Setting:
Here's me, Ken Smith:
Ken's half-Japanese, but he's VERY American, in that Top Gun Maverick style -- always going solo and flying too far. Even though he's the Red character, his issues are Overconfidence and Trust, which makes him a bit more like the Blue character. However, I do have my spotlight episode set pretty early, so I'm hoping soon I'll resolve some of my Trust issues and then be a proper Red Team Leader. My Resonator mech is airplane-based, with large beam cannons, but also with some mining mods. I've never designed a mecha before, so it looks really awkward, but the goal is agility and maneuverability.
Here's Chris, Dmitri Romanov: (drawn by Chris)
Dmitri is the cerebral Russian pilot -- very much the cool and calm chess master. His mech is chunky and tank-based.
Here's the star system, as designed by Jono:
You can see that the USS Liberty and the Cosmo Platform Lenin are orbiting two different planets, separated by an asteroid belt. The aliens that show up are very organic and bug-like, whereas our mechs are powered by gemstones.
The Episode:
Dmitri gets sent to investigate a Soviet spy satellite in American airspace that has gone silent. He finds the satellite completely destroyed -- molten slag. He tries to do a fly-by and collect more US information, but gets caught by Ken. (Ken's intro was of random pilots calling for help, but Ken barely hears it because he has is rock music on so loud. Then he tells them that he's got it, turns off the comm unit, and zooms into the asteroid belt in chase of Dmitri. Dmitri out-maneuvers him, but then a space jellyfish tentacle attacks Dmitri and busts his Resonator gem.)
Ken goes out to investigate the Space Tentacle (with a nice flashback scene of Ken doing 0-G Judo with his training sensei, where we explored some of Ken's aggression and control issues. I believe it ended with the line, "Of course I care about my safety, it's not like there's anyone else who does."). Ken breaks out of his revelry just as he comes across the arrival of a massive alien ship that starts stucking up the ocean of the Russian planet. Dmitri shows up, having escaped from the USS Liberty (awesome negotiation scene with Commander MacAllen and clever jamming of the prison force field with a butter knife. Unfortunately, also triggered a battle between the USS Liberty and the Soviet force sent to rescue him). Ken and Dmitri attempt to combine their Resonator suits, but fail because Ken and Dmitri can't agree on one single mission. Ken tries to send a message to the USS Liberty at a crucial moment that fails. Other mecha pilots (the Green Sikh, the Yellow Brazilian, and the Red Japanese) show up for the space battle, which ends with Kenji and Dmitri crash-landing on the Cosmo Platform Lenin, which then crashes onto the newly-exposed ocean floor.
Ken is in a hastily erected Russian brig, being interrogated by the Commissar (and ignoring her). Dmitri steps in and together they convince the Commissar that the aliens are the real enemy. (It turns out that Ken does speak Russian, quite fluently -- but it's the crass kind, where he knows 10 words for prostitute but 0 for "commander". He calls the Commissar "Lady"). Ken and Dmitri successfully combine, just as an alien attacks the downed Cosmo Platform and directly threatens Natasha, Dmitri's "childhood friend." They save Natasha, though their reckless behavior invokes the ire of the Commissar.
Here's Natasha:
The USS Liberty shows up and after some negotiations, agrees to help get the Cosmo Platform Lenin back into orbit. Dmitri has a nice moment in the sick bay with Natasha, who expresses her gratitude to Dmitri. Meanwhile, Ken is boxing while listening to very loud rock music, and has a flashback to being betrayed by a childhood friend (they were just playing, he got teased for being Japanese, he reacted angrily, and his friend wasn't allowed to play with him anymore.) Seeing Dmitri surrounded by his Russian friends, Ken decides that he's better off alone.
Here's Ken's Personal Set:
Problems with Playtesting
So this is the 3rd PTA game that Chris, Jono and I have played together. The last two have been SO MUCH FUN -- Star Wars: A Galaxy Divided and Night Fragrance (I write about it here, which also includes links to the Star Wars game).
This time, however, we tried playtesting a PTA 3 that's currently in the works, and it did NOT go well. The episode dragged on too long, and many of the scenes were boring to play. I felt like the episode could have (and should have) ended with the Cosmo Platform Lenin crashing onto the island.
Since this is a playtest, I want to confirm with the creator before I start randomly talking about specifics.
So, firstly, The Setting:
Here's me, Ken Smith:
Ken's half-Japanese, but he's VERY American, in that Top Gun Maverick style -- always going solo and flying too far. Even though he's the Red character, his issues are Overconfidence and Trust, which makes him a bit more like the Blue character. However, I do have my spotlight episode set pretty early, so I'm hoping soon I'll resolve some of my Trust issues and then be a proper Red Team Leader. My Resonator mech is airplane-based, with large beam cannons, but also with some mining mods. I've never designed a mecha before, so it looks really awkward, but the goal is agility and maneuverability.
Here's Chris, Dmitri Romanov: (drawn by Chris)
Dmitri is the cerebral Russian pilot -- very much the cool and calm chess master. His mech is chunky and tank-based.
Here's the star system, as designed by Jono:
You can see that the USS Liberty and the Cosmo Platform Lenin are orbiting two different planets, separated by an asteroid belt. The aliens that show up are very organic and bug-like, whereas our mechs are powered by gemstones.
The Episode:
Dmitri gets sent to investigate a Soviet spy satellite in American airspace that has gone silent. He finds the satellite completely destroyed -- molten slag. He tries to do a fly-by and collect more US information, but gets caught by Ken. (Ken's intro was of random pilots calling for help, but Ken barely hears it because he has is rock music on so loud. Then he tells them that he's got it, turns off the comm unit, and zooms into the asteroid belt in chase of Dmitri. Dmitri out-maneuvers him, but then a space jellyfish tentacle attacks Dmitri and busts his Resonator gem.)
Ken goes out to investigate the Space Tentacle (with a nice flashback scene of Ken doing 0-G Judo with his training sensei, where we explored some of Ken's aggression and control issues. I believe it ended with the line, "Of course I care about my safety, it's not like there's anyone else who does."). Ken breaks out of his revelry just as he comes across the arrival of a massive alien ship that starts stucking up the ocean of the Russian planet. Dmitri shows up, having escaped from the USS Liberty (awesome negotiation scene with Commander MacAllen and clever jamming of the prison force field with a butter knife. Unfortunately, also triggered a battle between the USS Liberty and the Soviet force sent to rescue him). Ken and Dmitri attempt to combine their Resonator suits, but fail because Ken and Dmitri can't agree on one single mission. Ken tries to send a message to the USS Liberty at a crucial moment that fails. Other mecha pilots (the Green Sikh, the Yellow Brazilian, and the Red Japanese) show up for the space battle, which ends with Kenji and Dmitri crash-landing on the Cosmo Platform Lenin, which then crashes onto the newly-exposed ocean floor.
Ken is in a hastily erected Russian brig, being interrogated by the Commissar (and ignoring her). Dmitri steps in and together they convince the Commissar that the aliens are the real enemy. (It turns out that Ken does speak Russian, quite fluently -- but it's the crass kind, where he knows 10 words for prostitute but 0 for "commander". He calls the Commissar "Lady"). Ken and Dmitri successfully combine, just as an alien attacks the downed Cosmo Platform and directly threatens Natasha, Dmitri's "childhood friend." They save Natasha, though their reckless behavior invokes the ire of the Commissar.
Here's Natasha:
The USS Liberty shows up and after some negotiations, agrees to help get the Cosmo Platform Lenin back into orbit. Dmitri has a nice moment in the sick bay with Natasha, who expresses her gratitude to Dmitri. Meanwhile, Ken is boxing while listening to very loud rock music, and has a flashback to being betrayed by a childhood friend (they were just playing, he got teased for being Japanese, he reacted angrily, and his friend wasn't allowed to play with him anymore.) Seeing Dmitri surrounded by his Russian friends, Ken decides that he's better off alone.
Here's Ken's Personal Set:
Problems with Playtesting
So this is the 3rd PTA game that Chris, Jono and I have played together. The last two have been SO MUCH FUN -- Star Wars: A Galaxy Divided and Night Fragrance (I write about it here, which also includes links to the Star Wars game).
This time, however, we tried playtesting a PTA 3 that's currently in the works, and it did NOT go well. The episode dragged on too long, and many of the scenes were boring to play. I felt like the episode could have (and should have) ended with the Cosmo Platform Lenin crashing onto the island.
Since this is a playtest, I want to confirm with the creator before I start randomly talking about specifics.