Talkback: Apocalypse World
You asked for more voices so here's some!
After my solo discussion of Apocalypse World's MC section, I invited colleague Lin Codega and game designer Luke Jordan to come on and chat in today's talkback episode. We talk about their experiences with the game as well as react and discuss the responses that some of you fine folks sent in. It's a fun conversation with a five-star runtime so please enjoy!
Here's an excerpt:
Lin: Well, my bona fides with this is that I've been in an Apocalypse World [campaign] for the past three to four months. We've just hit session 10 and everything has really gone to shit and it's really, really great. I think Apocalypse World is one of those games that works once you hit a certain number of sessions. I think that it's good up until session five or six. And then once you hit session six — especially if you have a good GM and your characters are all, your player characters are all focused on the team game as well as like the individual game —session six is when everything really comes together. And I really appreciate a campaign. I like an arc. I like multiple meetings with the same people where I see their faces and I get to tell them fuck you over and over and over again. Feels good, heals the soul, you know? Really good for the heart. Clears your skin, waters your crops, the whole thing.
Luke: It is really interesting because I feel like there is folk wisdom I've certainly seen going around in the discourse space that Apocalypse World — some people extrapolate this to all PBTA games — is ideal in a six to eight session format and it doesn't have longevity of play. And to those people, let me just say, dog, you're wrong. I try to be generous with other people and their opinions, but I just don't think that's correct. And Lin is the living proof as someone who's about to play 37 sessions of Apocalypse World with this sick little freak character.
Lin: I think we'll probably get to like session 16. But yeah, I don't think my boy is gonna make it. I'm playing to sort of set the scene. I'm playing a 15 year old boy whose name is Goddamnit and he's the volatile, which means he's just like a 15 year old with like a little bucktooth and freckles and a walking arsenal. And he just comes up and says, What did you say to me? He pulls a gun on you. We're just like, Goddamnit, maybe not the time.
Thomas: Has the joke happened where somebody said 'god damn it', and you said, yes? And they were like, not you, Goddamnit.
Lin: We have made good use of that joke... All of the characters are related, they're all family members. So one of the player characters was my dad. My dad did die in session nine, which was bad. I'll tell you about the later. But yeah, it's really interesting to have that dynamic as well, because we're kind of building something very, very intentional. And I think that Apocalypse World in general is really interestingly suited for family stories. I think people take it in the found family direction. I'm like, that's fine, but that just kind of ends up in like found family is just the people you're fucking. And I'm like, that's not right.
