Game Design #29: Vietnam in Space (Hard Sci-fi Overdose)

To be frank, I'm becoming sick of hard sci-fi.  It seems every game designer has realised that hard sci fi is just modern combat with a few cool new toys, and thus a single set of rules can serve for WW2, modern and hard sci fi.  Maybe post-apoc if you're feeling adventurous.  For me, Vietnam/Afghanistan in space is rapidly becoming as tired and repetitive as most spaceship games (which are 90% WW2 wet-navy-in-space).

It's a sad day when I find myself pining for a certain grim dark future, where chainsaw swords and electrified claws are viable weapons, and psychic powers can trump rocket launchers.

I feel most of these rules lack an "x factor" that make me want to play them. I'm finding it hard to be enthusiastic about new rules - some have better or cleverer mechanics than others, but basically they all do the same job. 

Not convinced? Do a quick google for sci fi war-game rules. 

Platoon level? Check.

Hacking/"Net"? Check.

Renamed modern weapons? Check.

Power armour?  Check.

Drones? Maybe.

Mecha? Check.

AI Robots which are barely different than normal troops? Check.

Most of the rules are designed for humanoid forces and have very little differentiation (i.e. little to no stats - maybe Troop Quality and Morale) with a bunch of tacked-on special rules which makes the slime monsters from Uranus and Arachnidians act very similar to human troops, with maybe a special ability for flavour.

Admittedly it's probably the mini manufacturers to blame; e.g. 90% of the sci fi stuff being churned out in 15mm is just humans with helmets, body armour, and exotic assault rifles.  The aliens tend to be simply humans with different shaped helmets and weapons.  Heck, I lost enthusiasm for painting my extensive 15mm collection when I realised all my armies were essentially duplicates of each other. The availability of minis doubtless influences indie designers without a dedicated miniature line.

So what areas are under-represented?

Weird Modern

We have an overdose of Weird War III/pulp (and wargaming seems to attract Cthulhu devotees for some reason) but why not more weird modern rules?

Here's some examples that are reasonably popular in other mediums (books, videogames, movies) that seem rare on the war-game table.

*X-COM/Aliens. MIB-style alien hunting would make a fun war band skirmish game.  You could have competing aliens (greys, reptilians, etc) and governments/agencies (CIA, MJ12, MI6, Chinese) as well as private multinationals all wanting to get their hands on alien tech.  You'd have to mix-and-match minis from a variety of ranges though. 

*Modern Psychic/Horror.  A set of rules to do STALKER (mutants/psychics + exploring a 'forbidden zone') or F.E.A.R. (commando team fighting paranormal entities). Basically modern combat + horror + psychics + mutants.This could be done as a skirmish or platoon/fire-team level game. Think modern-day "pulp" with a bit of a darker vibe.   Using "recognised" psychic powers would give a believable, structured "magic" system. (I notice Lead Adventure forum sells some very cool "not-STALKER" minis).

*Modern Fantasy. In the vein of Shadowrun, but set in the modern day.  Competing mystical races/factions  (the inevitable Underworld-style werewolf -vs- vampire) or elves or whatever.  Sadly, vampires/elves etc in suits etc are a bit rare.  The fiction shelves are full of this stuff - I'm sure it could be made into a popular war-game. Or it could borrow from Day Watch (light and dark sorcerers duelling).  There's plenty of inspiration here, but admittedly miniatures are a bit thin on the ground.

*Modern Troops vs Alien/Monster Invasion.  There's always heaps of movies about this. This genre lends itself well to bigger scales, Independence Day-style stuff.  There can be asymmetrical games with powerful monsters capable of single-handedly taking out vehicles. This could borrow elements from Alien vs Predator, Starship Troopers, District 9 and similar movies/sources.  There's plenty of fantasy monsters/aliens and the many excellent modern troops available in 15mm and 28mm.  Mixing 28mm aliens/monsters and 15mm humans could create bigger monsters as well.

EDIT: A spin-off of this is Stargate - i.e. regular soldiers go through portal to fight aliens.  Of all the ideas suggested, this topic (and the one below) has the most widely available minis. 

*The Matrix/Tron.  A war-game that takes place in side a virtual/dream world. This could be an excuse for cool paint schemes (a la Tron) and allow ridiculous mis-mash of cool vehicles and units (Sucker Punch).  You could use Matrix "magic" to give depth and interest to the game.  This would be easy to do as it allows almost any miniatures to be used, and great flexibility in gameplay.

Space Fantasy

OK, Mantic ARE kinda doing something here but we all know they are simply ripping off GW. Space Skaven anyone?    This genre seems to  cower in the shadow of 40K.  Blasters & Bulkheads are the only indie rules I can think of offhand with a definite fantasy slant.    The free ruleset In the Emperor's Name provides a fun outlet for repurposing old 40K minis.

I'd like to see a game that revives the fun of early 40K (Rogue Trader era) where creativity, build-your-own-units, and a certain tongue-in-cheek fun were combined with familiar, recognisable mechanics (updated to take into account modern war-game trends - i.e. reactions, and activation that is not IGOUGO).  

Whilst I enjoy realistic games, sometimes I don't want my sci-fi to be simply a modern game where guns, suppression and good use of cover reign supreme.  Lightsabres, space magic, lots of melee, weird and wonderful monsters and creatures that defy physics.  Where have they gone?

I'm not going to give examples here as space fantasy can encompass a pretty wide scope. As an aside, there are plenty of universes that could be "borrowed" from - after all GW pretty much stole all their ideas TerminatorsNecrons  Alien Tyrannids OrksOrcs  ElvesEldar  space marineSpace Marines (tm).  Hey, where's my not-Dune rules?

What we don't need in sci fi:

More zombies.  It seems 90% of all miniature/boardgame Kickstarters are focussed on undead.   Please, exercise your imaginations, people!  The folk in the 50s and 60s at least got some variety.  What happened to giant insects and body-snatching plants?

More "cookie cutter" Mad Max-ripoff Post-Apocalyptic stuff.  Why does every post apocalyptic movie or game involve (a) extensive body piercing/tattooing (b) extensive grime (c) crossbows & machetes > assault rifles (d) cannibals/mental illness (e) more spiky bits and leather than 40K has skulls.  The TV show Revolution (with its near-future world without electricity) whilst terribly acted, at least showed some imagination in its post apocalyptic approach.