Comments on: Things I Learned From Japanese TRPGs http://yarukizero.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/things-i-learned-from-japanese-trpgs/ A Blog About Ewen Cluney's RPG Stuff Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:40:31 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Ewen http://yarukizero.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/things-i-learned-from-japanese-trpgs/#comment-66 Ewen Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:53:43 +0000 http://yarukizero.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/things-i-learned-from-japanese-trpgs/#comment-66 I really want to know more about other countries besides the U.S. and Japan too, but there's the problem of the language barrier. There's a good article about the scene in Finland in the first issue of Push, for example. Jonathan Walton has said that the gamers in China mostly play from pirated PDFs of American games, and according to Guy Shalev in Israel people are mostly into freeform. I can't really tell you a whole lot about GURPS in Japan. While Japanese RPGs themselves have incredible production values, their websites are largely terrible, and provide hardly any information, and Group SNE's is worse than most. FEAR's is badly laid out, but at least I can find information on it. <a href="http://godzillagamingpodcast.libsyn.com/" rel="nofollow">Godzilla Gaming Podcast</a> did an interview with Andy K, who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do. From what he's said the Shin Megami Tensei RPG also sounds like it's a bit too involved to be just for short-term play. Sunset Games was actually nice enough to let me order stuff by Paypal from them directly (hence I got Maid RPG and its two sourcebooks and Yuuyake Koyake), and the other stuff I got through Amazon Japan, which does international shipping. There's one called Meikyuu Kingdom that I really want to get a hold of, but I haven't been able to find it. Whenever I finally get around to going to Japan again, I'll probably wind up going to Yellow Submarine (the major hobby shop for this stuff there) and spending WAAAY too much money. Japan's main RPG website hub thingy is <a href="http://www.trpg.net/" rel="nofollow">TRPG.net</a>, and it does in fact have a Traveller page, albeit one that hasn't had any activity since 2004. Another thing to keep in mind about RPGs in Japan is that they didn't really reach the country until around the mid-80s, so I suspect there wasn't the same generational gap that there was here between wargamers who picked up D&D and roleplayers who were never into wargames. On the other hand I suspect that some of the stuff I've identified here is at least partly the direction Japanese RPGs have been going in the past 5 years or so. And, in case you haven't heard, Andy K is planning to bring out <a href="http://www.tenra-rpg.com/" rel="nofollow">Tenra Bansho</a> (a really crazy, and somewhat dark science fantasy samurai kind of thing) in English later this year. I really want to know more about other countries besides the U.S. and Japan too, but there’s the problem of the language barrier. There’s a good article about the scene in Finland in the first issue of Push, for example. Jonathan Walton has said that the gamers in China mostly play from pirated PDFs of American games, and according to Guy Shalev in Israel people are mostly into freeform.

I can’t really tell you a whole lot about GURPS in Japan. While Japanese RPGs themselves have incredible production values, their websites are largely terrible, and provide hardly any information, and Group SNE’s is worse than most. FEAR’s is badly laid out, but at least I can find information on it. Godzilla Gaming Podcast did an interview with Andy K, who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do. From what he’s said the Shin Megami Tensei RPG also sounds like it’s a bit too involved to be just for short-term play.

Sunset Games was actually nice enough to let me order stuff by Paypal from them directly (hence I got Maid RPG and its two sourcebooks and Yuuyake Koyake), and the other stuff I got through Amazon Japan, which does international shipping. There’s one called Meikyuu Kingdom that I really want to get a hold of, but I haven’t been able to find it. Whenever I finally get around to going to Japan again, I’ll probably wind up going to Yellow Submarine (the major hobby shop for this stuff there) and spending WAAAY too much money.

Japan’s main RPG website hub thingy is TRPG.net, and it does in fact have a Traveller page, albeit one that hasn’t had any activity since 2004.

Another thing to keep in mind about RPGs in Japan is that they didn’t really reach the country until around the mid-80s, so I suspect there wasn’t the same generational gap that there was here between wargamers who picked up D&D and roleplayers who were never into wargames. On the other hand I suspect that some of the stuff I’ve identified here is at least partly the direction Japanese RPGs have been going in the past 5 years or so.

And, in case you haven’t heard, Andy K is planning to bring out Tenra Bansho (a really crazy, and somewhat dark science fantasy samurai kind of thing) in English later this year.

]]> By: jeffro http://yarukizero.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/things-i-learned-from-japanese-trpgs/#comment-65 jeffro Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:25:40 +0000 http://yarukizero.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/things-i-learned-from-japanese-trpgs/#comment-65 This is a really fascinating post. There's this whole realm of gaming outside the scope of the American scene... I must know more! What is the GURPS scene like in Japan? The system sounds antithetical to the trends you describe here... but it wouldn't have to be if it was supported with the right sort of supplements.... Is there a Traveller fanbase in Japan? I know Imperium was translated into their language... but do they have nostalgic grognards arguing about the Traveller canon like we do? What games in English are most like the Japanese games you describe? How can I get these Japanese games??? This is a really fascinating post.

There’s this whole realm of gaming outside the scope of the American scene… I must know more!

What is the GURPS scene like in Japan? The system sounds antithetical to the trends you describe here… but it wouldn’t have to be if it was supported with the right sort of supplements….

Is there a Traveller fanbase in Japan? I know Imperium was translated into their language… but do they have nostalgic grognards arguing about the Traveller canon like we do?

What games in English are most like the Japanese games you describe?

How can I get these Japanese games???

]]> By: Japanese Role Playing Games: A Different Spin « Jeffro’s Car Wars Blog http://yarukizero.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/things-i-learned-from-japanese-trpgs/#comment-64 Japanese Role Playing Games: A Different Spin « Jeffro’s Car Wars Blog Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:22:44 +0000 http://yarukizero.wordpress.com/2007/02/12/things-i-learned-from-japanese-trpgs/#comment-64 [...] 12th, 2007 at 5:22 pm (Uncategorized) Yarukizero has just posted about the differences between Western and Japanese gaming cultures.  It’s extremely fascinating as it highlights exactly what I dislike about modern trends in [...] [...] 12th, 2007 at 5:22 pm (Uncategorized) Yarukizero has just posted about the differences between Western and Japanese gaming cultures.  It’s extremely fascinating as it highlights exactly what I dislike about modern trends in [...]

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