Paranoia XP Tabletop RPG 'Goes Gold'

Costik writes "Paranoia XP, the new version of the cult tabletop RPG which first debuted in 1984, and in which a 'well-meaning but deranged Computer desperately protects the citizens of Alpha Complex, a vast underground city, from all sorts of real and imagined enemies', is done, and will appear at Gencon Indy later this month. The interesting aspect is that it was designed 'in public,' using a weblog, an online forum, and a Wiki, with enthusiastic support from the community. Fans of the game wrote text, debated rules, proofread, ran statistical analyses, and even wrote a computer simulator to test the game's paper-and-pencil rules. Allen, the game's designer, says 'We borrowed the tools and methods of open-source software development for a paper game, and it worked brilliantly.'"

Comments

Re:I've often said it:

[Kenegan]

Experiences will always vary. In the hands of a psychopathic GM, Bunnies & Burrows can turn nasty and Rocky & Bullwinkle may become more bloodbath than party game.

Allen and the massed forces of the Paranoia fanbase have turned out a game that better caters to differing styles of play. You can continue to play old style blast 'em til they glow games, but the background is broader with support for less frantic and casualty-heavy styles of 'straight'-play.

I would recommend that you give it another go if you get the opportunity.

Re:I've often said it:

[Zab UvWxy]

It is obvious that Dark-MAY-O is a commie traitor, since he would rather take pity and "re-educate" (whatever that is) a fellow Commie Mutant Traitor. Friend Computer clearly says that all CMTs are to be executed upon identification as a CMT.

Please remain still as the Destruct-O-Ray cannons lock onto you. Attempting to flee is treason, punishible by death.

Re:I've often said it:

[Allen Varney]

Paranoia is a great way to entertain someone for a few hours. Unfortunately, that someone is going to be the GM, and everyone else is going to wind up hating him or her, and to a lesser extent, each other.

I'm the principal writer for the new PARANOIA. The new edition of PARANOIA changes the relationship between Gamemaster and players from open malevolence (as established in the 1987 second edition) to a more interesting Skinnerian psychology. Briefly, the GM should condition his players, using a wide variety of tools explained in the rules, to reinforce behaviors he likes and punish behaviors he doesn't.

Presumably the GM wants to condition the players to play more PARANOIA. He does so by letting them have fun, allowing them to occasionally win through despite obstacles (temporarily, anyway), and rewarding them for entertaining him and the other players.

The GM's attitude should be a lofty, Olympian amusement at his players. This, I hope, will discourage bad experiences of the type you report.