Geeks at the movies

Cinematic games can really bring out the buzz in role playing making combats and the whole game flow more easily without players getting distracted. It also adds more character and glory than say getting a 20 on that goon, when compared to (taking a scene from a Feng Shui game), kicking his head off somersaulting into the air to catch it and then slam dunking it through an open sunroof.

To really make cinematic games come alive the GM has to hand over quite a bit of freedom to the players. Players should be encouraged to repaint the scene to fit their needs for whatever cool moves the character plans to pull off but still some limits should remain. If the GM doesn't allow the players to add detail to the set then they are less likely to use props, or will constantly be asking what is nearby which can stilt the high paced action that a cinematic game wants. Conversely the PC's shouldn't needlessly add in absurd or useless details, such as needing a quick getaway from a abandoned warehouse that all of a sudden has a shiny new jet sitting in it that no one noticed before. It is also important that players come up with and state their actions relatively quickly again to keep the game moving at a good rate.

The rules should reflect the actions at the very least slightly. Exaulted and Dream Pod 9's silcore rules both have excellent methods for performing stunts and the very nature of these games encourages players to do so. A good general guide line would be to give bonus dice or modifier to the action (possibly making it harder to perform at the same time) or even just allowing some dice rolls to be automatically being passed. It is important not to over burden any given set of actions with too many dice rolls as these will again severely slow the pace of the game as in one game where a Orc biker rode his bike out of a 3rd story window bounced off a van roof and skidded round to confront the driver with a big f**k off pistol. This set of actions too about 5 dice rolls to work out (with associated time for the GM to interpret how successful each part was) making the whole thing take about 15 minutes to work out and robbing it of much of its appeal compared to the much quicker and easier running down the stairs. This would have been better served with 1 or 2 dice rolls with a slight bonus for coolness (and to encourage other players to do nifty stuff).

The main point of a cinematic games is too keep a high pace with very cool and weird stunts being pulled keeping everyone thrilled and on the edge of their seats.