I noticed that "Mystery" is not in the genre list. I would think that would be a nice thing to check for some games?

I think the case for it has been argued before... don't remember why it wasn't added then, but it seems to me that strategy fits for a mystery type game, if not well.

Let me ask this way, what distinguishes a Great Expectations type game from a Sherlock Holmes type game?

I think your game could fit in fantasy ... :P

In reply to daniel_t (msg #3):

That would depend almost entirely on the type of game.

Assuming you mean Dickons' serialization, Great Expectations, unless the focus of the game is the complex inter-connections between the characters and rooting them out is the end-goal of the players I wouldn't consider it a strategy (or even a 'mystery') game.

Assuming that the players are Sherlock Holmes and Watson (or detectives in general) strategy would be the perfect tag.

Both would likely get a Historical tag (unless you're contemporizing Holmes, which I've seen done); depending on how much the mysticism from the books plays in, the Sherlock game might even be valid for a Fantasy tag.

How many people search up 'Strategy' books at the library? Not many. I sure don't. That should be the same for here. If I want a 'Mystery' game, I'd search 'Mystery', not 'Strategy'. And seeing as to how 'Mystery' is not a valid tag... I'd be sorely upset that there weren't any 'Mystery' games here on RPoL, even though there actually is, just mislabeled. I wouldn't know to search 'Strategy'.

Honestly, I believe RPoL should use Library Referencing as an example on how to categorize games. They have a whole lot more experience in categorizing than the RPoL Admins and Mods do. And their system works quite well, IMO.

Second.

I have to agree.  The term 'strategy' to me makes me think of the game Diplomacy or something in which the players are Warlords or Planetary Leaders or some such, and controlling large groups of combatants.

In fact, if the tag 'Mystery' were available, I would apply it to the game I am running now, [game name removed].  But 'strategy' would never occur to me.
This message was last edited by a moderator at 19:21, Mon 24 Aug 2009.

I'm not sure you can make a link to your game like that here but I'll let that to a moderator.

I second M. Bacon's secondation.

Rensik; if you want a re-work up of the genres, pop by the thread where we're trying to work out exactly how to better the current system.

link to a message in this forum

Like I said, it's not a perfect fit; however, while not all strategy games are mystery games, by necessity all mystery games ARE strategy games (unless the mystery is not a focus of the game, in which case it wouldn't necessarily need to be tagged that way).

Sorry, I didn't mean to advertise inappropriately.  I just have a premade link plus name in my extended copy buffer, so I just paste the whole thing when I refer to it.  I'll be more careful.

How is that ?

A Lovecraftian type of game could be a mystery one without being stategic.

As was mentioned last time the Mystery genre was brought up ( link to a message in this forum ), the suggestion has been passed on to jase.

The fact that it hasn't been implemented yet does not necessarily mean that the idea has been rejected.  It could just mean that he hasn't had a chance to deal with it yet (he tends to wait until he has a bunch of changes ready to put in at one time), or that it's still under consideration.

Wow ...

I've changed my mind a lot in the last year :P

According to the definition provided: Strategy is a category for war games, board games, and other games with specific, simple goals and clearly-defined ways to win or lose. Unlike most role-playing games, winning is the main point of playing these games.

How does a Sherlock Holmes RPG in any way fit the description above? I just don't see it but I'm willing to be corrected. Maybe my game isn't really a Mystery...

The problem is that "Mystery" is not an RPG genre.

There are two types of genere classifications:

Setting - (Sci-FI, Fantasy)
Type - (Strategy, Anime)


Now, describe a "Mystery" game that wouldn't fit into a setting or type.

The only answer I can come up with is purely riddle games, but you can post that in "Contemporary" or "Strategy" just fine?

Sherlock Holmes? Well if it's accurate Victorian then it'd be set in Historical.
Steam-Punk? Historical + Fantasy (maybe even sci-fi if it's advanced steampunk)

Got a modern caper? Put it into contemporary.

Most story driven RPG's will have some mystery aspect to them, and there aren't "mystery" RPG's that don't fall under some other setting or genre.

Yes, but the whole point of the multiple category system is to be able to specify setting and type.  If you were stuck labeling all modern games as contemporary there wouldn't be any search parameter differentiating between an Urban Arcana game (contemporary fantasy), a Champions game (contemporary superhero), a Cthulu Now game (contemporary horror), and a Ranma 1/2 game (contemporary anime comedy).

And speaking of comedy, virtually all the arguments leveled against mystery apply to comedy as well.  While I'm not saying we absolutely need mystery as a genre, it is at least as deserving of its own genre as comedy.  However, that might be an argument for the removal of comedy, not the addition of mystery.  I mean if we add mystery, does that also mean we should add romance, action, and all the other literary genres?
This message was last edited by a moderator at 09:09, Mon 02 Nov 2009.

For what its worth, I've played in some games that could be classified as 'tragedy'

;)

Thanks everyone.  It appears the thread has run its course and jase can read it at his leisure to decide of the Genre name "Mystery" has value for RPoL.