Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban Q5: The Jeu di(scussion)

Apocryphal

Are there any particular gaming elements you might draw from this novel?

NeilNjae

Bits of it reminded me of Heroquesting in Glorantha, where the questers enter they mythic world to recreate the stories of the gods, and gain some benefit from it. Riddley's journeys came across in the same way, of him following a set script (or interpreting things in light of that script) and seeing what the conclusion was.

There were a couple of nice bits of post-apocalypse worldbuilding, such as they use of old industrial sites as iron mines, and how concepts get reinterpeted into Riddley's time.

RichardAbbott

Could one (as a GM) successfully build a world by misinterpreting an old piece of artwork? That's basically what Hoban has done in fiction, but I don't know if it would work in a game?

NeilNjae

I think the misinterpretation of St Eustace is just one element of the book. And I've seen a few examples of people basing RPG campaigns on prog rock albums.