The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I was one of many fans of LUG's STAR TREK games who scratched my head in confusion when this one was announced. I mean, sure, the holodeck is sort of cool as an occasional plot or narrative device, but one has to wonder why, with so many more essential products patiently waiting their turn farther back in line (the upcoming Klingon boxed set, for example), are got this one when we did. After reading it, I still question the priorities, though one of the authors (Ross Isaacs, a stand-up guy like all the other LUG folk I have had the honor of chatting with online) did point out that smaller projects like this are important to keep up a schedule of releases without constantly putting out huge, expensive products like the (uniformly excellent) boxed sets and hardcovers. In response, I can only say that the other small books (PLANETARY ADVENTURES. VOL 1, PLANETS OF THE UFP, A FRAGILE PEACE: THE NEUTRAL ZONE CAMPAIGN, VOL 1, THE FIRST LINE: STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE HANDBOOK, THE WAY OF KOLINAHR and the various NARRATOR's TOOLKITS) are all stronger products with at least as much play value, and probably more in most Trek series' (LUGTrek speak for campaigns).

HOLODECK ADVENTURES starts out by explaining, in true Treknobabble fashion, how the holodeck works. For those who live in caves or otherwise have managed to not see any of the modern-era Trek shows, holodecks are sort of a high-tech cross between virtual reality and animatronic shows like you see at theme parks; they use holography, matter/energy transformation systems and shaped force field technology to mimic virtually any sort of environment or scene from reality or imagination, producing it in 3-D for the Star Trek characters (on the shows or in the game) to interact with, for educational, training or recreational purposes. For example, holodecks may allow a character to take part in a historical reenactment or novel, go mountain climbing, or do an extremely accurate, life-sized computer simulation, all safely (assuming computer safety protocols are on line, which is never a safe assumption) and without leaving the starship. This chapter describes the ins and outs of this magical technology in a logical fashion while also inserting some ideas for the Narrator (LUGTrek speak for GM) to produce adventures (often through mess-ups in the aforementioned safety protocols). There is also a pretty nifty discussion about using the holodeck as a narrative, rather than plot, device (to foreshadow events in the 'real' adventure, for example).

Next is a long discussion of the conventions of many typical holodeck entertainment programs (or holonovels). Essentially, this comes down to a discussion of the various conventions of various literary and entertainment genres. The point is to show how the Narrator might come up with a holodeck simulation or program for the player characters to interact with or take part in; for example, Ensign Smith, Lieutenant T'kep and Crewman Wilson may decide to play three nameless gunslingers come to an Old West town to bring justice and shoot lots of people.

In effect, this comes down to a game within a game; the players, in their spare time, are portraying Starfleet officers who, in their spare time, are portraying, spies or Viking warriors or characters in a gothic horror (or whatever). As the text states, this can be a fun way to explore a Trek character's personality, via off-duty interests or how she interacts with a situation outside the typical Trek reality (maybe that reserved science officer lets all inhibitions go when she dresses like Sheena of the Jungle and gets a chance to mix it up with opponents who won't really die), even when the system doesn't screw up and trap the characters in an unexpectedly real situation (ie, the lions and hostile natives can't be shut off, and suddenly their claws and spears are really sharp, and all those bugs are a real problem when you're wearing a fur bikini at night).

Finally, we get three adventure scenarios, sample holonovels the Trek crewmembers might play through. These adventures reflect different genres (hard-boiled detective, high seas piracy, and a gothic fantasy/horror set on in an alien culture). All are well-written game adventures that would be engaging to run and play.

Now, this game-within-a-game idea has a certain charm, I admit, and I have no quibbles with the adventures themselves. The problem is this: If I want to play a detective in 1930s San Francisco, a ninja in feudal Japan, or a warrior in ancient Hyperborea, why am I playing a Star Trek RPG? I can see why my character might be interested in such passtimes, but how often am I really going to want to run my Tellarite engineer through an old TOP SECRET module? When I asked this question (via an earlier version of this review) on the TREKRpg mailing list, Ross Isaacs pointed out that this is a great way to do something, without risk to an ongoing Trek campaign, when either the right mix of players has not arrived or cannot make it, or when it turns out that the players aren't really in the mood to play cerebral Trek characters; rather than running the planned adventure, the prepared Narrator can put the characters up against the oil baron's henchmen, a band of orcs, or even the Joker. Okay, point granted. And it might really be a blast to run my Klingon up against Daffy Duck Wile E. Coyote....once. But I certainly hope this does not happen often (time to look for another game or group of players if it does), and even if it happens only occasionally, I may not always want to run Dr. M'tembe through the Tomb of Horrors; maybe I would prefer to just roll up a quicky AD&D character, or play RISK. An intriguing option, but not one I see most Trek gamers choosing very often. I think all of this could have been covered adequately in some other supplement, and question whether it really warrants a supplement all its own. In terms of content, this is the weakest of the LUGTrek books so far. Though what is there is admittedly good, the play value is more limited than, say, the in-depth examination of the Vulcans presented in the wonderful WAY OF KOLINAHR.

In terms of presentation, this is a mixed bag. The line art (as opposed to the beautiful stills from the TV series that decorate the hardcovers such as the Core Game Books) in early LUG products was generally not very good, but that has changed markedly over time, and in the case of HOLODECK ADVENTURES, the art is quite nice, and often pretty amusing (you gotta love the Andorian hard-boiled detective). Unfortunately, some layout and design elements are problematic. LUG products generally feature good graphic design, but when things don't work, they really stand out. In particular, there are places (the back cover, credits and table of contents pages, and the opening page of each chapter) where the text (black or white, depending on where) is superimposed on a grid pattern (either black and yellow, or green and black) meant to represent the familiar appearance of an inactive holodeck. The result is visually striking, but renders the text difficult to read.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Holodeck Adventures
Author: Robin Laws, Steve Long, John Snead, Rob Vaux, Ross Isaacs Category: game Company/Publisher: Last Unicorn Games Line: Star Trek: The Next Generation RPG Cost: $16.00 Page count: 100 ISBN: 1-889533-17-3 SKU: LUG 25303 Capsule Review by Jeffrey W. Kramer on 12/30/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Far_Future Generic	I was one of many fans of LUG's STAR TREK games who scratched my head in confusion when this one was announced. I mean, sure, the holodeck is sort of cool as an occasional plot or narrative device, but one has to wonder why, with so many more essential products patiently waiting their turn farther back in line (the upcoming Klingon boxed set, for example), are got this one when we did. After reading it, I still question the priorities, though one of the authors (Ross Isaacs, a stand-up guy like all the other LUG folk I have had the honor of chatting with online) did point out that smaller projects like this are important to keep up a schedule of releases without constantly putting out huge, expensive products like the (uniformly excellent) boxed sets and hardcovers. In response, I can only say that the other small books (PLANETARY ADVENTURES. VOL 1, PLANETS OF THE UFP, A FRAGILE PEACE: THE NEUTRAL ZONE CAMPAIGN, VOL 1, THE FIRST LINE: STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE HANDBOOK, THE WAY OF KOLINAHR and the various NARRATOR's TOOLKITS) are all stronger products with at least as much play value, and probably more in most Trek series' (LUGTrek speak for campaigns). HOLODECK ADVENTURES starts out by explaining, in true Treknobabble fashion, how the holodeck works. For those who live in caves or otherwise have managed to not see any of the modern-era Trek shows, holodecks are sort of a high-tech cross between virtual reality and animatronic shows like you see at theme parks; they use holography, matter/energy transformation systems and shaped force field technology to mimic virtually any sort of environment or scene from reality or imagination, producing it in 3-D for the Star Trek characters (on the shows or in the game) to interact with, for educational, training or recreational purposes. For example, holodecks may allow a character to take part in a historical reenactment or novel, go mountain climbing, or do an extremely accurate, life-sized computer simulation, all safely (assuming computer safety protocols are on line, which is never a safe assumption) and without leaving the starship. This chapter describes the ins and outs of this magical technology in a logical fashion while also inserting some ideas for the Narrator (LUGTrek speak for GM) to produce adventures (often through mess-ups in the aforementioned safety protocols). There is also a pretty nifty discussion about using the holodeck as a narrative, rather than plot, device (to foreshadow events in the 'real' adventure, for example). Next is a long discussion of the conventions of many typical holodeck entertainment programs (or holonovels). Essentially, this comes down to a discussion of the various conventions of various literary and entertainment genres. The point is to show how the Narrator might come up with a holodeck simulation or program for the player characters to interact with or take part in; for example, Ensign Smith, Lieutenant T'kep and Crewman Wilson may decide to play three nameless gunslingers come to an Old West town to bring justice and shoot lots of people. In effect, this comes down to a game within a game; the players, in their spare time, are portraying Starfleet officers who, in their spare time, are portraying, spies or Viking warriors or characters in a gothic horror (or whatever). As the text states, this can be a fun way to explore a Trek character's personality, via off-duty interests or how she interacts with a situation outside the typical Trek reality (maybe that reserved science officer lets all inhibitions go when she dresses like Sheena of the Jungle and gets a chance to mix it up with opponents who won't really die), even when the system doesn't screw up and trap the characters in an unexpectedly real situation (ie, the lions and hostile natives can't be shut off, and suddenly their claws and spears are really sharp, and all those bugs are a real problem when you're wearing a fur bikini at night). Finally, we get three adventure scenarios, sample holonovels the Trek crewmembers might play through. These adventures reflect different genres (hard-boiled detective, high seas piracy, and a gothic fantasy/horror set on in an alien culture). All are well-written game adventures that would be engaging to run and play. Now, this game-within-a-game idea has a certain charm, I admit, and I have no quibbles with the adventures themselves. The problem is this: If I want to play a detective in 1930s San Francisco, a ninja in feudal Japan, or a warrior in ancient Hyperborea, why am I playing a Star Trek RPG? I can see why my character might be interested in such passtimes, but how often am I really going to want to run my Tellarite engineer through an old TOP SECRET module? When I asked this question (via an earlier version of this review) on the TREKRpg mailing list, Ross Isaacs pointed out that this is a great way to do something, without risk to an ongoing Trek campaign, when either the right mix of players has not arrived or cannot make it, or when it turns out that the players aren't really in the mood to play cerebral Trek characters; rather than running the planned adventure, the prepared Narrator can put the characters up against the oil baron's henchmen, a band of orcs, or even the Joker. Okay, point granted. And it might really be a blast to run my Klingon up against Daffy Duck Wile E. Coyote....once. But I certainly hope this does not happen often (time to look for another game or group of players if it does), and even if it happens only occasionally, I may not always want to run Dr. M'tembe through the Tomb of Horrors; maybe I would prefer to just roll up a quicky AD&D character, or play RISK. An intriguing option, but not one I see most Trek gamers choosing very often. I think all of this could have been covered adequately in some other supplement, and question whether it really warrants a supplement all its own. In terms of content, this is the weakest of the LUGTrek books so far. Though what is there is admittedly good, the play value is more limited than, say, the in-depth examination of the Vulcans presented in the wonderful WAY OF KOLINAHR. In terms of presentation, this is a mixed bag. The line art (as opposed to the beautiful stills from the TV series that decorate the hardcovers such as the Core Game Books) in early LUG products was generally not very good, but that has changed markedly over time, and in the case of HOLODECK ADVENTURES, the art is quite nice, and often pretty amusing (you gotta love the Andorian hard-boiled detective). Unfortunately, some layout and design elements are problematic. LUG products generally feature good graphic design, but when things don't work, they really stand out. In particular, there are places (the back cover, credits and table of contents pages, and the opening page of each chapter) where the text (black or white, depending on where) is superimposed on a grid pattern (either black and yellow, or green and black) meant to represent the familiar appearance of an inactive holodeck. The result is visually striking, but renders the text difficult to read. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average)

Holodeck Adventures