What a gut wrenching essay. Excellent work as always, Aaron. These games really speak to the power of ttrpgs and their ability to transport the player to the past and make them make the choices someone must have made back then. As a Spaniard I feel like these two games have a lot in common with another wartime game that puts the victims of the conflict as the protagonists: La Desbandá, by Pablo López, set in one of the most gruesome points of the Spanish Civil War. I still have to read that one. I am glad to live in a time when this kind of games are becoming a little bit more common. It is a really powerful way to leart about the nuances of the past. Thank you for this essay and the musings it has brought up.
Thanks for watching. I will have to check out La Desbandá, it seems like a fascinating exploration of history. I hope we get more games like this that can both function educationally, as well as provide an avenue for empathy.
Thank you. Unfortunately I think because of the content warnings in the description, RUclips flagged it as 18+ only, which it will recommend to new viewers less frequently. I plan on doing a more popular RPG for my next video, which I hope will bring in more viewers to see less-well-known games like these two!
There is so much here! These games and video are an integral part of how to history…also a crucial part of and way of tabletop role playing and award nominee and ‘Best of/ Essential’ list type material. I’m reminded of some of Jason Morningstar’s history or contemporary issues in his designs as well.
I had this video on my watch later list for a while A.A Voight and you have not disappointed at all! Honestly this quote right here: “The Americans thought we were followers of Marx. No, you were wrong. We fought for this country, so that there would be no more bombing, no more war. There would be no more death, no more destruction.” hit me like a truck. As a leftist, I definitely came in with sympathy,but that contextualization really grounded this essay. Seriously this project must have been emotionally a lot, so its greatly appreciated the work you put into this.
Glad you enjoyed it Blerdy. I'm really grateful to Kevin Nguyen for writing these games, because as an American, I can often get caught up in the historical atrocities we committed, so much so that I center my thoughts on America as an imperial power itself. Nguyen's games remind us that real people with complicated, personal beliefs were affected by this conflict, and I hope to keep those people in mind when talking about the war in the future.
Great essay as always. Reminds me of Viet Thanh Nguyen's _The Sympathiser_, a great spy novel that starts at the fall of Saigon. Have you read Dog Eat Dog? It's another TTRPG I heard a lot about, one which also puts the players in the roles of the colonised.
Yeah, Kevin Nguyen also recommended "The Sympathiser" as a parallel text for these games! And I have not read Dog Eat Dog, but I have heard of it, one on my long list of "games to read someday!"
@@aavoigt There's a limited series adaptation of the novel, too (which i haven't seen, but its creative cohort and direction seem pronising)! The novel's sequel' _The Committed_ starts on a refugee boat like the one the essay ends on. (Then it moves to Paris.) I can't wait for the concluding book in the trilogy.
What a gut wrenching essay. Excellent work as always, Aaron. These games really speak to the power of ttrpgs and their ability to transport the player to the past and make them make the choices someone must have made back then. As a Spaniard I feel like these two games have a lot in common with another wartime game that puts the victims of the conflict as the protagonists: La Desbandá, by Pablo López, set in one of the most gruesome points of the Spanish Civil War. I still have to read that one. I am glad to live in a time when this kind of games are becoming a little bit more common. It is a really powerful way to leart about the nuances of the past. Thank you for this essay and the musings it has brought up.
Thanks for watching. I will have to check out La Desbandá, it seems like a fascinating exploration of history. I hope we get more games like this that can both function educationally, as well as provide an avenue for empathy.
This was a great video! It's criminally unfair that it doesn't have more views, you did a phenomenal job
Thank you. Unfortunately I think because of the content warnings in the description, RUclips flagged it as 18+ only, which it will recommend to new viewers less frequently. I plan on doing a more popular RPG for my next video, which I hope will bring in more viewers to see less-well-known games like these two!
This is an amazing piece. I have just recently discovered these games and a friend turned my own to your video. Heart breaking.
Glad you enjoyed it. Most of my videos aren't as heavy as this one, but I hope it goes to show how wide-ranging the world of tabletop games can be!
There is so much here! These games and video are an integral part of how to history…also a crucial part of and way of tabletop role playing and award nominee and ‘Best of/ Essential’ list type material. I’m reminded of some of Jason Morningstar’s history or contemporary issues in his designs as well.
I had this video on my watch later list for a while A.A Voight and you have not disappointed at all! Honestly this quote right here:
“The Americans thought we were followers of Marx. No, you were wrong. We fought for this country, so that there would be no more bombing, no more war. There would be no more death, no more destruction.” hit me like a truck. As a leftist, I definitely came in with sympathy,but that contextualization really grounded this essay. Seriously this project must have been emotionally a lot, so its greatly appreciated the work you put into this.
Glad you enjoyed it Blerdy. I'm really grateful to Kevin Nguyen for writing these games, because as an American, I can often get caught up in the historical atrocities we committed, so much so that I center my thoughts on America as an imperial power itself. Nguyen's games remind us that real people with complicated, personal beliefs were affected by this conflict, and I hope to keep those people in mind when talking about the war in the future.
Great essay as always. Reminds me of Viet Thanh Nguyen's _The Sympathiser_, a great spy novel that starts at the fall of Saigon. Have you read Dog Eat Dog? It's another TTRPG I heard a lot about, one which also puts the players in the roles of the colonised.
Yeah, Kevin Nguyen also recommended "The Sympathiser" as a parallel text for these games! And I have not read Dog Eat Dog, but I have heard of it, one on my long list of "games to read someday!"
@@aavoigt There's a limited series adaptation of the novel, too (which i haven't seen, but its creative cohort and direction seem pronising)! The novel's sequel' _The Committed_ starts on a refugee boat like the one the essay ends on. (Then it moves to Paris.) I can't wait for the concluding book in the trilogy.