Service Co: Generations of Excellent Service
Sp4m:
Pitch: Paranoia meets Idiocracy meets the Matrix
AKA Office Space in Space.
Players are service desk team for a galactic megacorp, where all other characters are so specifically trained, they are incapable of problem solving and creative thought. Despite being the only ones in the Galaxy who can do more than turn on and off a computer, because the players are indentured servants for the corporation, they belong to the lowest possible rung of society. They are given weekly missions of a mundane origin, whose ultimate resolution is anything but. Meanwhile, players are competing with each other for promotion, , and equipment, while other Mega Corps are looking to steal their business.
Why is this worth playing (Secret GM Only knowledge)?
During the course of the first adventures, players are given a slow reveal: they are smarter than everyone they meet, and everyone they meet is unhappy.Though players are treated with disrespect by the world, they overcome adversity and are made to feel empowered. The rest of the characters in this story do not have adversity. The players slowly find out about the culture of their own people, and get an identity independent of their profession. They are given fantastic powers, and full control over how to use them. Then they discover that the entire world is a lie. Not only is all of man kind depressed and dissatisfied, but the players (and other servicer teams like them) are the only ones who keep everything going. Unfortunately, man kind is no longer capable of caring for itself, and if they stop, billions will die.
Until this reveal, the game plays as a light hearted dark comedy. Office Space in Space. Players struggle to get the bare minimum within a company whose mantra is "Do more with Less."
Zachary_Wolf:
Overall I like the idea alot. I've been trying to think of some other way to present Paranoia style situations, where the characters are supposed to be working together on the surface, but secretely plotting each other's hilarious demise, and I think this is a pretty creative way to present that. As far as the "big secret", it seems interesting, but I'm not sure how it will support the original premise of "the characters are competing for promotion and getting sent on crazy odd jobs that lead to hyjinks". In other words, how would transition seemlessly from paranoid office space to the matrix?
Sp4m:
Transition is planned over a 3 mission spread that slowly reveals a pangalactic servicer plot for revolution.As players breach the corporation hq with the intent to destroy it, they realize that there is no corporation, no level 2 dispatch technicians, no managers. There is only TODD, the big computer that runs everything.
intergroup competition needs to be fleshed out, but i'm afraid too much in fighting,and it will just be paranoia with a different shirt on.
Ideally, the players will band together to face teh adversity of a world that hates them because of their birthright.
Zachary_Wolf:
Cool. I like the idea of TODD. What is the acronym for?
Okay, I see what you're aiming for now. In that case, not so much paranoia style backstabbing by vaporizing the other service crew, but inter-office competition for promotion akin to Dwight vs. Jim, but more over the top?
I'm interested to see how you present the game along with the presumed adventure path. Make sure you post a link to something on this forum too.
Kashlaor:
If you wanted to be particularly dramatic you could make the player whos character "wins" the jockying for promotion the first to find out how hollow the corporation is. Imagine him being invited up to "the 78th floor for commendation" only to find a deserted office covered in papers and a few spare pieces of drywall.
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