So I’m currently planning a game of Bliss Stage, a story game by Ben Lehman of TAO Games. I want to make it very Evangelion/Persona inspired, and I want to use it as a platform for exploring ideas that people see as taboo and otherwise uncomfortable. I’ve made a questionnaire for my players to fill out regarding what they find acceptable or not with the caveat that some things are non-negotiable, and that all players will be expected to handle all subjects maturely.

I’m currently exploring what sorts of things are “acceptable” and in what contexts. Some groups say that no sex is allowed in-game, but intimacy and relationships are exactly what I want to talk about. I want the characters to be flawed, damaged, and possibly psychotic, so there are a lot of things that are “on the table”, so to speak. I’m not going to rape characters out of nowhere or threaten player agency, but I do want to be able to broach taboo topics if it would contribute to a characterisation.

One of the players I’ve tapped as a “yes” is big into queer theory, for example, and I’m hoping to include that aspect in the story we tell. I hope to include non-standard sexualities not because they’re sexy or anything, but because I want to use discomfort to open the players up, so to speak, and I want to explore the sense of not knowing who you are as a teenager. On the questionnaire, I have stuff like rape, molestation, trauma, and discrimination, not because I think they’re good things which deserve our consideration, but because I hope that I can use these subjects to evoke a stronger emotional response, without stepping over boundaries. My group of friends doesn’t have a lot of boundaries when we talk, and I think we’re mature enough to talk through the effects these things have on people.

If you have thoughts on this, please post a comment below. Before that, though, know that I do know my group, I am talking through this with them a lot as I go through this planning process, and I will not trivialise these issues.