Quake 1 is an incredibly influential video game, not just to other video games, but to tabletop RPGs as well. We played Slipgate: Chokepoint recently. Now that we’ve re-played Quake 1 and a RPG inspired by it, Chris and I discuss the thematic and mechanical differences in translating pixels to a paper game.

(on a personal note – I plan to post more episodes here more frequently. The last few months were extremely hectic but now that the wedding is over, I can focus more on RPPR podcasting. I have a lot of great topics for upcoming episodes so stay tuned!)

A new crew of smugglers start taking jobs in Duskvol. They call themselves the Blind Eyes and specialize in the weird and the occult. As the gang grows in power, they learn of an invisible war for control over the city between supernatural beings and ruthless factions and an incredibly powerful artifact that can change the course of history.

This episode, the players and I talk about what worked and what didn’t work in our 24 episode campaign of Blades in the Dark, both in game mechanics and the story of this particular game. If you missed an episode, check our the campaign page to find download links.

This group portrait of The Blind Eyes by Patsy McDowell. From left to right: Vimes, Salvage, Salty, Flake, and Audra

Baz – Salty / Oberon Matias Declarmont the Spider
Birk – Audra the Whisper
Aaron – Salvage the Leech
Caleb – Flake the Cutter
Bill – Vimes/Seth the Slide

My friend Chris (the voice of Ab3 in our early radio plays and a cool guy on Twitter) had an idea for a new series on RPPR. Tabletop RPGs have influenced video games since their creation. Video games have influenced tabletop RPGs for a while as well. In Pixel 2 Paper, we will focus on specific video games and their connection to tabletop RPGs. In the first episode, we will look at the video game, then in the second episode, we will do an actual play of a tabletop RPG linked to the video game and in the third episode, we’ll talk about both.

For our first game, we’re looking at Quake 1, the influential FPS from Id Software with Lovecraftian undertones. Its story is barely more complex than its color palette, but its incredible action and innovations changed video games forever. (On another note, I talked about the Quake 1 soundtrack on my other podcast, Night Clerk Radio, so check out that too!)

Listen to part 2, our actual play of Slipgate Chokepoint, here.