Terrible Musicy

One-hit wonders, now older, have one last chance in the studio to mend ways and try a comeback, or decide to fade way. Can you pull it together before the Jack runs out, or is there too much past drama? (Features simulated musicianship)

Long Description

"One-hit wonders, now older, have one last chance (2 hours) in the studio to mend ways and try a comeback."

'Terrible Musicy', everyone knows That One Song. You were big in the Oughts, post-punk alt-alt darlings. Now, you're pushing past 40 and your label says, write a hit or you're dropped. Can you put aside past grievances? Can you remember how to play your damn instruments? Will the Documentary filmer get the $%@^ out of your face? You have 2 hours left in the studio or until the Jack runs out to try to pull together one last jam, or to give up and decide to fade away.

No player music experience required (in fact, it's equally fun without). Actual instruments to play, plugged into a soundboard and running to tape (in easy mode, thing one-button synths or autoharp-like guitar strumming as being available.).

Includes serious topics including alcoholism, drug use, suicidal tendencies, cheating, betrayal, growing old, becoming irrelevant, selling out, or maybe making it all work one last time. Players may be a serious as they wish, it's ultimately the players who determine whether this runs like 'Walk the Line' or 'Walk Hard'.

Think Fleetwood Mac or Guns N' Roses or Smashing Pumpkins, bands where money and drugs and egos and sex and music and, well, the life got to be too much, yet the talent was still there. You've got band members who quit then came back, some in for stardom and some wishing to be taken as 'serious' musicians, some lost in their own headspace and others just grooving on the lifestyle. Some who believe and others who just need the paycheck.

Characters will have fully scripted backstories, but isn't everyone an unreliable self-narrator? Growing backstory is available as ghostlibrary.com/terrible

Characters will be: 1. Singer-songwriter, former leader of the band until they left and came back again. Not quite sure what decade it is or how old they are (will periodically have 'lapses' contingency that flash them back to an earlier self.) 2. 'Terrible', the Guitarist, who dreams of being seen as a serious musician somehow and that folk rock is the way to go. Turns to heroin to tune out (but doesn't know the drug is actually speed). 3. Bass player, conspiracy theorist who thinks the studio might have actually dubbed over his takes in all their past works, and fears being replaced by AI. Paranoid about not being heard or being in the mix. 4. Drummer who has forsaken a kit for all world instruments: hand drums, cowbells, etc. Believes rhythm is a trap. 5. Keyboardist who now makes bank selling loops for online commercials and TikTok people. Always checking his investments. Fan of old Kraftwerk and one-key songs. 6. Documentariest, once a fan and starting to be disillusioned (and brings up lots of contingency 'facts' to stir the pot) 7. The Sound Engineer, fully convinced they could put a hit together all by themself that's better than any of them together. 8. The manager, trying desperately to hold it together so they can pay off their mortgage 9. (optional, if a skilled musician wants): the Kid, a fan into retro who is better than anyone on the instruments but too shy to do it. Gets to pick 1 person to idolize but must switch that midway during game.

There will also be up to four 'extras' player slots for various groupies, spouses, exes, drug dealers, musicians visiting from the other studio, et cetera. These characters will not appear until the first 30 minutes of the game have gone by. Players of these roles, after their initial walk-on, will have the option of staying in game for the rest of the run, or exiting in a hopefully dramatic fashion and choosing a different walk-on to continue. These represent 'the scene' around which and are intended as supporting characters to provide more drama, rather than as fully realized characters. As such, their character sheets are much shorter and more open to interpretation. None of these will be cast beforehand (and thus are suitable for last minute players as well).

Prior and current romances and relationships will be spelled out along with vices and addictions, mental conditions, past trauma, things the character really can't let go of, past joys and highlights, and suggestions on motives. But in the end, the player gets to decide their character's choices.

Game is set entirely in 'the studio', a low budget but fully equipped area with instruments. Instruments will be set at the start to pre-set tunings or autoplay modes that sound 'good enough' so no actual music skills by players are required, but if you want this to be your Eurovision moment, sure, bring your karaoke chops or basic rhythm and it might get kinda awesome!

The GM plays the role of console tech and will assist with gear. This is a game about relationships and of mistakes and art and stuff. Who knows, you might also make a song.