Andy’s Powerpoints are an excellent mood setter and when linked with atmospheric or period music really help add an extra dimension to the game. As players we all look forward to the latest multi media presentation and is very relevant when playing in the ‘Nam campaign which was after all the first televised war – so seeing vid clips etc helps bring set the scene. He’s going to try & post them on YouTube if possible as they really are worth seeing.

badlapje@yahoo.com

I second! TV theme songs are made directly to elicit mood while being short and compact. Since something is being drifted to gaming from the television field it is a good idea to keep going and use the TV themes as well. Video game music works well too, but I’m a huge proponent of drifting video game ideas to tabletop gaming.

For first-timers, I’d strongly recommend using a TV theme song (the TV version, not the original). These are often only a minute or so long, and therefore less daunting to make a powerpoint around (although if you have a friend that’s into mixing music, you can always have him or her “shorten” a song for you).”

dugrdan: I’ve also used sound effects to great effect, especially in Star Wars. I usually just use my media player to play them, though.

Jeff: That Nocturnum sequence blew me away. My first thought was “man, this is incredible and way too much of a time investment for me!” My second thought was “must be a b*tch to re-edit when a PC dies.”

bignose: I don’t really see how a 2-3 minute opening credits sequence equates to a 90-120 minute movie. Within those 2-3 minutes, I establish mood, theme, visual representations of places and characters, NPCs, and plot hooks (which saves me from long, boring descriptions later). My games are generally roleplay-heavy and I’ve never had a player complain about it (whereas they have complained if I skipped it).

Badlapje and Telas: I’d prolly violate far too many copyrights if I posted it on YouTube. I did have it in my laptop at Gen Con (note to self: get a convention center hotel next time!).

Walt

Could you post one on YouTube, by any chance?

Both of these have worked because
A) my group meets very irregularly and the PP helps to get us focused and recap what happened last time.
B) both of these were modern campaigns and therefore there is a huge image library out there on the internet for me to plunder

I would say that once the initial PP is over I occassionally use PP to set up specific scenario scenes but I’d stop using it in a heartbeat if I felt it was closing down the roleplaying element of the game.

On the contrary its been a great addition and one welcomed by my players as it adds to the atmosphere.
I’d recommend it to any PP savvy GM’s out there who want to spice up/speed up their pre game intro’s

This is a GREAT idea, but not only for PPoint tabletop games. Right now I’m have GREAT temptations to use is to my PBEM main page!

I mean, use these definitions to fill the main page, so the gamers and lurkers will get the idea of the game at a glance.

If we wanted to watch a movie, that’s what we should do; but instead we got together around this table for interacting with each other. This suggestion is very different from using props or paper handouts; those at least can be interactive. A computer slideshow is *entirely* passive for the audience.

Sure sounds like exactly the opposite of what we want when we get together for an RPG.