benlehman: (Default)
benlehman ([personal profile] benlehman) wrote2009-10-21 07:07 pm

HGMO

I have a playable pile of notes for a yaoi-themed RPG. If anyone local wants to playtest it with me (it takes 2-4 players, and I would like to test at every group size) please let me know.

Yaoi (a Japanese acronym for something like no plot, no morals, no point ...) is a genre of romantic gay pornography (in both soft and hard core) targeted at girls. It features hot, hot men who can't help but express their forbidden feelings for each other. There are a bunch of other genre conventions (tops and bottoms have different personalities, etc.) but you get the idea.

The goal with the game (working title: Hot Guys Making Out, or HGMO) is to make a compact, heavily-genre-themed RPG that can be sold primarily to teenaged girls as the target audience. Basically, I want something to hold up at anime cons and say "this is the yaoi role-playing game."

The game has no GM, a structured narration style, and card-based mechanics. Influences include Bliss Stage, Spione, Misery Bubblegum, Breaking the Ice, and S/Lay w/Me.

Right now it's just a pile of notes that doesn't really work without me there. So only locals (or people who will be around Seattle soon). But as soon as I have a playable draft I will let other people know. Showing enthusiasm doesn't hurt.

[identity profile] zigguratbuilder.livejournal.com 2009-10-22 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Slight problem with title: It is very often that in the published yaoi, there is actually little making out: A lot of holding, hand-holding, topless/naked holding, but they milk it so that each kiss happens few and far between. I know because my wife was totally into Yaoi for a while before I met her, and we still have some genre manga lurking about on our shelves (most notably Earthian).

The Doujin yaoi, tho, the guys be fuckin' on page two.

So take that as a suggestion. I hate to make a suggestion without offering an alternative, but there ya go.

Also, I'd love to see what you come up with, especially rules as differntiating between the /seme/ ('aggressive'/'top') and /uke/ ('submissive'/'bottom').

[identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com 2009-10-22 04:50 pm (UTC)(link)
You know how in Dungeons and Dragons there's a dragon on the cover but you don't actually get the fight the dragon until you're, like, level 6?

The title should be taken in that light.

[identity profile] zigguratbuilder.livejournal.com 2009-10-22 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Excellent point! I totally concede to that metaphor.