(SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO DID WHAT)
[Now for an example of an Extreme Plot Buster that causes much argument amongst players.]
Space mercenary helps farmboy destroy weapon of mass destruction.
Star Wars (1977) (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) An epic space opera written and directed by George Lucas, starring Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill.
[Notice a few things about this Extreme Plot Buster (EPB) example.
Firstly, that acronyms must be spelled out. So WMD counts as four words: weapon(s) of mass destruction.
Secondly, it is acceptable to miss out the preposition "to" as long as the meaning of the sentence is not compromised.
Lastly, it is not necessary to qualify the description (for example "space mercenary and yeti help") to distinguish it from Joss Whedon's Serenity (2005) because they are not the same story as some people would like to suggest. You know who you are!
A suitable EPB for Serenity (2005) might be
Space mercenary helps medic save weapon of mass destruction sister.]
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_IV:_A_New_Hope
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_%28film%29
Showing posts with label EPB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EPB. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Sunday, 21 March 2010
WarGames (1983) (Extreme Plot Busting example)
(SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO DID WHAT)
[And now for an example suggested to me that perfectly illustrates the art of Extreme Plot Busting. Obviously, the additional rule for such competitive Busting is not to use the stars' actual names.]
Teenage hacker saves world from nuclear oblivion.
WarGames (1983) Directed by John Badham. Stars Matthew Broderick as a young man who mistakes reality for game-playing when he gains access to a military central computer, almost triggering World War III as a result.
[EDIT: There are some other aspects to competitive Plot Busting that I have just been reminded of.
Such games usually require the players to stick to a specific movie genre.
Usually the descriptions are expected to be proper sentences, but that makes one word Busts impossible, which can limit the fun, so is rarely enforced.
Players can Bust the same movie plot as someone else, if they want to. But Busts themselves must be unambiguous. There's no point in coming up with a shorter description if it could be applied to more than one movie.
The winner is the person who comes up with the shortest description, that at least one other player can recognise. (This aspect of Extreme Plot Busting can lead to much argument. I have been in situations where competitors pretended never to have heard of The Wizard of Oz (1939)! Team playing is the only effective way of avoiding such gamesmanship tactics. Players are split into teams, and must describe a movie for their team members to recognise.)
To summarise, the supplementary rules for combat Busting are:
Rule #6 Use character descriptions only. In other words no names (character or actor), no words from the movie's title, and no quotations (that's another game.)
Rule #7 The description must be unambiguous. If anyone else in the game can identify another movie that fits the Busted description, then the description is disqualified.
Rule #8 Someone must recognise the movie from its Busted description.
Rule #9 The shortest description wins.]
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames
[And now for an example suggested to me that perfectly illustrates the art of Extreme Plot Busting. Obviously, the additional rule for such competitive Busting is not to use the stars' actual names.]
Teenage hacker saves world from nuclear oblivion.
WarGames (1983) Directed by John Badham. Stars Matthew Broderick as a young man who mistakes reality for game-playing when he gains access to a military central computer, almost triggering World War III as a result.
[EDIT: There are some other aspects to competitive Plot Busting that I have just been reminded of.
Such games usually require the players to stick to a specific movie genre.
Usually the descriptions are expected to be proper sentences, but that makes one word Busts impossible, which can limit the fun, so is rarely enforced.
Players can Bust the same movie plot as someone else, if they want to. But Busts themselves must be unambiguous. There's no point in coming up with a shorter description if it could be applied to more than one movie.
The winner is the person who comes up with the shortest description, that at least one other player can recognise. (This aspect of Extreme Plot Busting can lead to much argument. I have been in situations where competitors pretended never to have heard of The Wizard of Oz (1939)! Team playing is the only effective way of avoiding such gamesmanship tactics. Players are split into teams, and must describe a movie for their team members to recognise.)
To summarise, the supplementary rules for combat Busting are:
Rule #6 Use character descriptions only. In other words no names (character or actor), no words from the movie's title, and no quotations (that's another game.)
Rule #7 The description must be unambiguous. If anyone else in the game can identify another movie that fits the Busted description, then the description is disqualified.
Rule #8 Someone must recognise the movie from its Busted description.
Rule #9 The shortest description wins.]
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames
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