It is not easy to recreate in digital the magic of the classic role-playing game with paper and pen, the way in which the adventure transcends the table invaded by sheets, dice and miniatures and builds images and atmospheres inside a simple room full of friends . In fact, the videogame role-playing game has mostly
followed different paths, developing according to different mechanics and systems of identification, even if the first attempts tended to be inevitably closer to paper versions, also due to the technological backwardness.
Repeating mechanics similar to today is not easy, with structures now sedimented and canons imposed on the market, but the indie productions can in some cases to get away and get closer to those original atmospheres.the excellent Galactic Keep , or the Pen and Paper series, emerged with Knights of Pen and Paper about five years ago.
It is a nerd game for nerds, and on this front the Paradox label is practically a guarantee. Even if its stuck in the imaginary geek is often a bit ‘too insistent and self-referential, connected as it is to a solid RPG structure helps to create a very pleasant experience.
Galaxy of Pen and Paper expands this concept by extending it to the whole sci-fi field, also linked to the nerd and ruolistic culture, proposing not only constant ironic references to the mechanics of role-playing but also to science fiction in general. As in the previous chapters, everything revolves around the game master and the players, who are always present on the screen around the
table on which the role play takes place, but in the widest portion of the screen behind them that unfold the adventures, staged as a huge projection of the fantasies of the protagonists. Obviously this solution lends itself to a continuous game of references, quotations and jokes that often break the fourth wall and lay bare, joking, the romantic illusion of the classic role-playing game.
LAUNCH THE DIE
The structure is that of the classic RPG, with all the interactions that are calculated on the basis of the virtual roll of dice, which determine the amount of damage inflicted in combat, the probability of obtaining certain effects and the possibility of casual encounters with enemies.
The combat system is obviously shift-based and based on the alternate use of the various members of the party, all of which are in turn managed and developed by investing the various accumulated experience points.
The game offers a main story, which sees us traveling to the galaxy struggling with ever larger adventures, and various secondary quests but these are actually the weakest aspects of the package: the weakness of the story is probably a consequence of its being a kind of great parody of the role-playing game in general,The new setting, however, offers a much greater potential
than the original, taking us on a walk through various planets characterized by different scenarios and easily offering the opportunity for various sci-fi-themed gags , as well as introducing combat between space ships during the meetings random in interplanetary movements.
