Rich Morris' Comics - YAFGC and The ComixBlog

This is the first of what I plan to be a series of movie reviews on the Comix Blog. Check it out, tell me what you think!

I liked the Gamer section. Made it standout more from typical movie reviews.

This movie sounds VERY similar to an manga I read a while ago. Pet Shop of Horrors had a weird shop in Chinatown, strange pets, the 3 rules, and terrible things happening when the owner broke the rules (and the shop wasn't responsible).

Is there any intentional connection? Although I'm thinking the 1984 date puts the movie earlier.

Mangafoxputs Pet Shop of Horrors as printed in 1995, which means it would definitely have been inspired by the movie, and not the other way around.

Ah, a fondly remembered film from my childhood.

I wasn't aware of any games related to it. I do remember the novelization, which went on and on about Majority vs. Minority Mogwai. Minority Mogwai (Gizmo) were smarter and longer lived. Majority Mogwai (Stripe and co.) came across as jerks from the start. Also, the book provided the tidbit that the species were created by an individual named Mogturmen.

You know, I don't think I have really seen the entire movie. I remember bits of it. I remember the part in the bar, the old woman, the showing of Snow White that really freaked me out, the Christmas scene, I loved that scene. I was really quite young when the movie came out and I remember having to sleep with the door open for fear of Gremlins getting me. I remember all of the second movie though. I also remember that we had a set of childrens storybooks and records that I rather liked.

No, there weren't any Gremlins specific related RPGs. But sometimes [often?] I like to use elements of movies and things to flesh out RPG worlds. Usually to my detriment, mind you. The response is generally more favorable to a totally original idea than a 'crossover' idea when running RPGs, but I loves my crossovers, so once in a while I'd indulge.

There *were* a few computer games related to Gremlins. I remember one where you are Billy (with Gizmo in a backpack) armed with a flashlight and you had to go from room to room slaughtering Gremlins and collecting Mogwai. You'd die if the Gremlins touched you. If the Mogwai grabbed food, they'd become Gremlins. You had 3 flashbulbs you could set off that would stun all the Gremlins in a room for a second or two if you got trapped.

Spent ages playing that. Got pretty good at it, too.

And we are VERY happy for that, I think. But there IS a new "boardgame" with miniatures! Gremlins: Gizmo's Great Escape! (I SO wish I was kidding about this!) I saw a copy in a Redmond comic-book shop, and it looks like the idea is that you have Gizmo and five Gremlins moving through a field of various traps. Gizmo has to get the Gremlins into the traps without landing on any himself.

I'm thinking you're not a fan.

Some things just don't work that well as a stand-alone RPG, and for me, Gremlins is one of those things. (It's like the Masters of the Universe game - that one didn't make sense to me, either.) The new WizKids game just looks cheesy and yet another attempt to cash in on old-school nostalgia. (The other game in the line is Freddy vs. Jason.) The description on the packaging doesn't give one the impression it's a very sophisticated game, but at the same time, it's been so long since the movies came out that it's hard to imagine this being something that kids would be into.

Now, if you were to work up a Gremlins supplement for a supernatural or urban fantasy game, that could actually work well. (Gremlins in Shadowrun, anyone?) As long as the Gremlins were a problem to be solved, and not just another critter to shoot.

Ah well, yes, that's how I've used them in the past. I've had them as a single adventure in a Doctor Who RPG (the Mogwai stayed on as a companion for a while) and I once used a Mogwai as a Jedi Master PC in a Star Wars campaign (sort of an extreme Yoda figure).

Rock on!

Now ask Rich about the time he played a Mogwai in a friend's game and managed to nuke an entire established campaign in one evening...

Do tell, Rich. Don't spare on the details.

HAHAAHAHAH! Yeah, that was part 2 of a 3 part story.

Part 1: Zombies.
I was at Sheridan college in Oakville Ontario studying animation. Some friends were gaming, it was a homebrew mashup similar to Cyberpunk. The players were investigating something on a massive space station (like the floating England in "The Beast Below" for those of you familiar with Doctor Who), an entire floating country as it were, in orbit over Earth. Well, I wanted to play but they'd been in the game already for a while. The GM said "I can't introduce a new character at this point. Sorry."
So I said "Can I just play a zombie?" I was heavily fanning on "Dawn of the Dead" at the time.
"A zombie?" said he.
"Yeah, like in the Romero movies."
"One shot to the head and you're dead." he said.
"I understand. I'll take the chance. I'd just like to make an appearance as a zombie."
"Okay" said he, reluctantly.

I started by shambling out of a dark alley near a bar the PCs were about to investigate. They took little notice of me, assuming I was a drunk or a vagrant. I tried to bite one of them, but they were heavily armoured. They just pushed me away, called some cops over and went on their way. Well, I bit the cops, Who crashed their car, reanimated, invaded an appartment block... while the PCs casually continued their investigation, my minions took over the entire continent. Three sessions later, they were the only ones left alive. And only because we couldn't bite through their armour.

The GM had to end his story, had the PCs escape and went on elsewhere....
TBC ->