Ross Payton

After Hours: Aesthetic Games

Added 2022-08-09 20:13:42 +0000 UTC

The Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute (CARI) is an amazing website that categorizes popular aesthetic trends from the last 70 years in pop culture. Baz, Thad, and I browsed through the categories and used them to come up with ideas for new RPGs, campaigns for existing RPGs, D&D source books, and board games.

If you're interested in learning more about aesthetics and vaporwave, check out Night Clerk Radio

Aesthetics mentioned in the episode:

Ross

A new RPG - UrBling - https://cari.institute/aesthetics/urbling - Speed lines - race cars fueled by magic ley lines - use them for fast and furious heists or fighting the man. Control a ley line nexus for control of a neighborhood or even an entire city.
A campaign for an existing RPG - Disco Deco https://cari.institute/aesthetics/disco-deco - alternate campaign model for Blades in the Dark - PCs are secret worships of a festival god and want to enact a year long rite to bring joy and
A D&D source book - any type - https://cari.institute/aesthetics/utopian-scholastic - The Museum of Eternity - a family friendly edutainment mega dungeon campaign - PCs are a tourist group - character class by archetype (fighter/tank is the dad, cleric is the mom, DPS is the bratty sibling, crowd control is the ‘mature’ kid etc. Dungeon levels are by exhibit type. Example: Whatzupwitu - Eddie Murphy ft. Michael Jackson (1993)
A board or card game vaporwave https://cari.institute/aesthetics/vaporwave - bag building game - it’s about pulling out tokens in a certain ratio - the idea is to be balanced between anxiety and comfort - each token gives an anxiety or comfort point and players get a point for each matched pair. Each player has 4 slots and if one column fills up, their turn is over. Tokens have different powers once drawn - look at the next token and you may return if you want before placing it, return the last anxiety or comfort token, look inside bag, and force opponent to return a matched pair.

Baz

Thad

Check out Baz on Twitch

Thad on Twitter

Music: A Secret Meeting/Edrics Precience by L A N D S R A A D