Sweet Ride
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and put together a blargpost. As it is gaming has been fairly routine for me lately. Not that that’s bad, but it means there’s not a whole lot that jumps out and says “Hey, write about me!” But our last few RPG sessions saw an interesting reaction between players, GM, and props.
Our current game is a Sci-Fi setting using the Savage Worlds ruleset and have been using some of his son’s Lego Minifigs as miniatures when we play. A few sessions ago we were given a task to perform and hummer-esque vehicle to take to our destination. We initially started with a couple large flat Lego pieces to represent the vehicle but our nerdiness couldn’t let the abstract stand. So while we played, a couple of us started putting together a vehicles with whatever pieces were in the box of Legos near the table. Thus, the “Sweet Ride” was born. And no, before you ask, you’re never to old for Legos. Ever.
Though it was good for a few laughs, we also suddenly had a shared picture of what the vehicle looked like. Descriptions for in-game events and actions began taking inspiration from what was sitting on the tabletop.
We also found that we had inadvertently invested ourselves what we had built. The Sweet Ride wasn’t just a vehicle, it was our vehicle. When a large xenomorph rammed the side and crumpled the front fender it wasn’t just some damage that would need to be repaired, it was a personal offense.
The gamemaster quickly got on board himself, eventually even commenting that he was going to have to work the Sweet Ride – which was intended as a throwaway transport – into future sessions.
Even though we were being a little silly with our vehicle, it still created investment in the game. I’m not saying anything new when I say that getting players invested in a game almost always leads to everyone enjoying the game more. But I think it’s worth pointing out that creating investment in props can have similar results.
As a side note, our gamemaster’s ten year old son decided to add his own contribution to the game after seeing our vehicle and put together the following alien creature. He’s checked a few times to see if we’ve used it yet, and his father assures him it’s going to be making an appearance soon.
