Appendix P: A very Personable Appendix N, for games both written and not

 

We're bandwagoning a again, this time on the suggestion of kick ass blogger Marcia B, the Appendicitis N blogwagon! The original appendix N was a list of literary works that had inspired the creators of the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons. It presents a list of fantasy and pulp writers whose influence can be felt in particularly older iterations of the game. Hot on the heels of the Appendix N jam, where adventures were written inspired by fictional titles that would have fit in between the likes of Vance, Moorcock, and Howard, we are now blogging about it. I don't think I have anything particularly interesting to say about the original Appendix N (except, if you want to read some Zelazny, the Amber series is the last thing I would recommend, start with his short stories or Lord of Light), therefore, I am presenting here a list of my own inspirations, some of which have already been realised in games, some have contributed to unreleased works in progress, while others are but twinkles in my eye, waiting for me to get off my ass and do something.

Unlike the venerable elders of the hobby, I will not restrict myself to books. While the written word can indeed be a marvellous source of inspiration, it is hardly the only one in this day and age. I am, however, not going to mention other tabletop roleplaying games, because while they are of course also an inspiration, often very direct, as I steal their mechanics for my own nefarious purposes, this feels contrary to the idea of an appendix N, at least to me.

The Viriconium series – M. John Harrison

A colourful post-apocalypse, and a pinnacle of implied worldbuilding. Harrison paints a world that is both evocative, and fuzzy around the edges, defining exactly enough to get you hooked, and leaving enough unsaid for you to always be hungry for more. There are no lore dumps, just mentions of things and events, leaving it to the reader to piece it all together. Almost poetic in its presentation of its subject matter. In a similar vein, I would be remiss not to mention The Ambergris Series by Jeff VanderMeer and the Bas-lag Trilogy by China Mieville.

The Divinity Student – Michael Cisco

If the previous entry was Implied Worldbuilding 101, Cisco's works are the advanced course. Fantastically weird and horrific stories told through prose more evocative than sensical, the reader must let themselves be enmeshed in the words, accepting whatever comes as it is. My inspiration from Cisco's works is perhaps most present in my Ritual, but it has certainly also influenced Death, Injury, and Other Inconveniences.

Piranesi – Susanna Clarke

A man with memory loss in a strange, infinite house which behaves weirdly, one might almost describe it as a megadungeon. The gradual revelation of a deeper truth, without ever fully explaining what this strange world is really speaks to me. I also love the themes of occultism and the esoteric, similar to what could be found in Fallen London and its spin-offs, as well as real world traditions from the early 20th century. This idea of other other parallel worlds is also well explored in A House of Many Doors, or Garth Nix' Keys to the Kingdom series of children's books.

The Thousand Worlds stories – George R.R. Martin

While I enjoy his unfinished fantasy epic, more than that of his friend, Roger Zelazny's Amber, I think the real gold in Martin's bibliography lies in his sci-fi writing, the majority of which is set in a shared universe, usually referred to as the Thousand Worlds. It is such an archetypical space sci-fi setting, with a collapsed empire, lost Earth, and a wide array of more or less connected worlds, each with their own culture and technological level. It is kitchen sink sci-fi when it is best, since Martin writes evocatively and always gives just the right amount of detail, it would be ideal inspiration for a game of Traveller or Stars Without Number. Roger Zelazny's sci-fi stories are also an absolute must-read.

Disco Elysium – ZA/UM

Rounding off my “I like the way it does worldbuilding" is the beloved video game. A fragmented world in a fictional year nineteen-something, its melancholy city with tinges of humane hope is exactly the kind of world I often want to present in my game. The world is messed up and broken, and the power is held by the strong and the greedy, but we exist, and we are human. We do what we can to survive, or we burn out brightly in resistance against the forces that be. The world does not work, but it still works well enough for some.

The Mortal Engines Quartet –Philip Reeve

A greatly evocative series of young-adult fiction I read as a teenager, it presents a post-apocalyptic world of cities eating cities. It's a great example of protagonists struggling in a world that really sucks, while a better world is possible. It is also a great example of how the best endings are often bittersweet. On top of that, the world imagined by Reeve is "goated with the sauce", as the kids say. A mix of oily machinery and poorly understood ancient high-tech weaponry, peppered with airships and big-ass machines. There was a film adaptation that looked cool, but was ultimately undercooked. An honourable mention for another book series I read as a kid with a cool world: The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, which describes a small bit of a world at the edge of a cliff, populated with flying rocks and a cornucopia of weird little guys. 

Sunshine – Dir. Danny Boyle

The best kind of sci-fi film: Big bombastic imagery, an evocative soundtrack, and great performances. It manages to create vibes when you're watching it. I don't care for technobabble, I want the film to make me feel something, get lost in its ambiance, and Sunshine achieves this to perfection. Its influence is most strongly felt in a half-written Mothership adventure on my hard drive. Stay tuned! Sunshine is of course not the only sci-fi film achieving this, the two Blade Runner films, being the most obvious other example, the original in particular, thanks to its Vangelis soundtrack.

The Works of Ursula K. Le Guin

Nobody does it like her, in my mind, she's probably the greatest science fiction writer of the 20th century. She was also a blogger. She paints fantastic worlds inhabited by human characters. It is rare that someone is truly good or truly evil, all are human and acting according to their flaws and virtues. The way magic is presented in the Earthsea series is such a fundamentally good "power word" system, which was a big inspiration for my own, as I used in Mistwalker. She is a guiding star, and if I ever write something a tenth as good as her, I will have exceeded my expectations.

Spirited Away + Kiki's Delivery Service – Dir. Hayao Miyazaki + Flying Witch – Dir. Katsushi Sakurabi

A bit of a combined entry here, because they together contribute to a vibe I find extremely compelling, namely the existence of a parallel society of minor gods and spirits, each governing their own little corner or aspect of mundane life, combined with the archetype of the young witch in training, learning to interact with this supernatural world and helping maintain harmony between the human world and that of spirits and monsters. At this point, this is but an inspirational thought, but if I were to ever materialise something, I would attempt to transplant this to a European setting, as Europe’s history has no shortage of folklore and witches, and I would feel infinitely more comfortable with this, compared to making something closer to the Japanese works that served as inspiration. (That said, I need to read Fledge Witch to check if they have already made this game)

The X-Files + Fringe + Supernatural + Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I love a horror-themed monster of the week show, with a little bit of big overarching conspiracy plot. The formula is evergreen: investigate whatever spooky thing is going on to find out what you are up against, consult the literature to figure out how to deal with it, and finally confront it to solve the problem. I really want to make a game following this type of structure, and I have some theming in mind, but I need to figure out how to make it work well as a game (and also get off my ass and write the damn thing).

In an adjacent space, because they do not have the monster of the week nature, sit Remedy's Alan Wake and Control, whose modern horror spooky vibes are fantastic. 

Modern Occult Rock/Heavy Psych music

Connected to the nascent game idea mentioned in the previous paragraph, I get super excited by the way these bands paint a world through their music. Pacts with devils, dancing naked in the forest, Rock'n'Roll, all the good stuff. The a selection of the artists in question are: Jess and the Ancient Ones, Psychedelic Witchcraft, The Devil's Blood, Spiral Skies, Sabbath Assembly, Blood Ceremony, and Jex Thoth. Don't let anyone tell you that rock is dead. I like this stuff enough that I even posted about it before.

 

And there you have it - I'm not going to pretend that this is comprehensive, but it is certainly the things that cam to mind. I am sure that there are plenty of other things that have inspired me in more specific ways. I have an unfinished solo game inspired by Crusader Kings, Bacchanalia was inspired by going out for beers with my friends, and Boys Don't Cry was inspired by being a guy.