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Violence (role-playing game)
Encyclopedia
Violence: The Roleplaying Game of Egregious and Repulsive Bloodshed is a short, 32-page roleplaying game written by Greg Costikyan
under the pseudonym "Designer X" and published by Hogshead Publishing in 1999 as part of its New Style line of games. Violence is a parody
of conventional dungeon-bashing games, set in a contemporary metropolis where player characters run from room to room killing the occupants and stealing their stuff. In a style reminiscent of Mad
, it is relentlessly user-hostile, taking time out to insult the reader wherever possible (it opens with the words "Welcome to Violence, you degraded turd"), and uses a mechanic whereby experience points can be bought for hard cash
from the designer or publisher. Despite innovative games design and exhaustive lists of equipment and weapons (including both belt and orbital sanders), monster types, and possible scenarios, it is largely and deliberately unplayable.
Cover art was by Clint Langley
. A Spanish language
edition exists.
In August 2005, Costikyan released Violence under a Creative Commons
license (Costikyan 2005) and made it available for download.
Greg Costikyan
Greg Costikyan, sometimes known under the pseudonym "Designer X" , is an American game designer and science fiction writer.Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including hex-based wargames, role-playing games, boardgames, card games, computer games, online games and mobile...
under the pseudonym "Designer X" and published by Hogshead Publishing in 1999 as part of its New Style line of games. Violence is a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of conventional dungeon-bashing games, set in a contemporary metropolis where player characters run from room to room killing the occupants and stealing their stuff. In a style reminiscent of Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
, it is relentlessly user-hostile, taking time out to insult the reader wherever possible (it opens with the words "Welcome to Violence, you degraded turd"), and uses a mechanic whereby experience points can be bought for hard cash
Cash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
from the designer or publisher. Despite innovative games design and exhaustive lists of equipment and weapons (including both belt and orbital sanders), monster types, and possible scenarios, it is largely and deliberately unplayable.
Cover art was by Clint Langley
Clint Langley
Clint Langley is a British comic book artist best known for his work on series with Pat Mills at 2000 AD and as the cover artist for Marvel Comics' Guardians of the Galaxy....
. A Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
edition exists.
In August 2005, Costikyan released Violence under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license (Costikyan 2005) and made it available for download.