As my Star Wars Saga Edition mini-series was winding down, my group started discussing what would be next on our roleplaying agenda. I was giving up the GM chair, but I wanted to flesh out some ideas I was having for a Trek game and I tossed the idea out onto the table for some input.
Player A: Why Star Trek? Star Trek is a good TV show, but I have no interest in roleplaying in the setting.
Player B: Ugh... Star Trek? Star Trek doesn't work as a roleplaying setting... never has and never will.
Player C: What kind of Trek game did you have in mind?
At which point our discussion turned into why one would like the TV show but not be interested in roleplaying in it and also why they felt it didn't work as a roleplaying setting.
The discussion went on much longer than I anticipated and while player A and B made some valid points, I didn't feel like they were seeing the bigger picture.
Player A thought that the setting wouldn't translate well to an RPG because it wouldn't be as exciting as the shows. Player B thought that people would have to play more than one character because of the whole away team/bridge officers scenario. Player B also thought that the game would have to take place on a starship and that no one would want to roleplay Star Fleet officers by the book. Player C seemed to think that there were lots of possibilities for a Trek game, but that a Starship would certainly need to be involved in the game somehow (a good point in a way).
I had wanted to run a series of games dealing with the Maquee (spelling) and their rebellion vs. the Cardassian Occupation. The players would not be by-the-book Starfleet Officers anymore and, in fact, the Federation would sometimes be the opposition during the course of the game.
Player C was the only player that expressed any interest and thus I shelved the idea. Player A just didn't like the idea of playing in a Trek setting and Player B just stuck to his guns that Star Trek doesn't work as an RPG because no one wants to follow orders and such, even though it wasn't going to be a Star Fleet game.
That's fine and dandy. No one has to like every setting or game obviously. It just frustrates me that I run into this issue every time I propose a Star Trek game. When I see the Trek setting, I see a dynamic universe filled with all sorts of campaign possibilities, not all of them Star Fleet officers type games. When most of my friends see Star Trek, all they see is a Star Fleet officer game that won't work out because a) cool show/bad for RPG gaming or b) no one will follow orders, so why bother?
Does anyone else run into this sort of thing on a regular basis?
I just had to vent that out. Thanks!