The TV Show Style Intro

One of my favorite ways to start out pickup games or other one shots is by creating a TV show style intro with the players.  If the players have trouble understanding what I’m asking for, I describe the beginning of anime, which typically feature the characters in a scene that helps define them.

Getting Started

I start out by telling the players that they should view thing from the perspective of a person watching that show.  They’ve just gotten home from work, or just gotten up on a Saturday, or are in a hotel room.  Either way, they’ve only go broadcast television, an they’ve just flipped to this show.  They haven’t ever seen it before, and it’s probably not even the first episode.

From there, I set the tone of the game by talking about the music, cinematography, and content of the intro. At this time, I encourage the players input as well.  Is the music ominous, futuristic, classical?  Do the characters have a signature vehicle.  If so, who drives and what do the other characters do when they are passengers?

Furthermore, I describe key settings from the game. Are we at a castle, apartment complex or space station.  What do the people there look like? Then, interspersed with my descriptions of these scenes, I ask the players to narrate a brief segment about their character.  What do they look like? How do they behave?  What scene would the producers of the show have chosen to highlight their character? Then maybe I throw in the villain of the story for them. It’s good to give them a taste of what’s to come.

Finally, by the end of the TV show style intro, we’ve all stretched our imagination a little, and collaborated on creating the feel of the game. Following this format, you can hear me use this technique on the latest episode of Dazzle and Crow Save the Worlds. See more articles about techniques for running pickup games here.