Puppet Wars Product Placement

[ThePandaDirector]

Without going into the maelstorm of details, I am possibly making a short film - more like a scene exceprt for a feature - that would have a board game being played by a prisoner and a guard. The first thought was chess, the classic symbol of conflict, but then I thought it might be even better to use Puppet Wars - Justice vs. Pandora =]

What is Wyrd's policy on this?

[Alviaran]

Not sure what Wyrd's stance is, but I'd stick to chess. Few reasons:

-Doesn't matter what Wyrd says. Wyrd may be obliging but something that is basically public domain is always safer.

-Chess is instantly recognizable to pretty much everyone. You can convey the sense of conflict much easier via chess than something more obscure.

-Puppet Wars would be a nifty nod if it was a movie or scene set in pretty much any miniatures gaming universe. Whether it was 40k, Warmachine or even Malifaux itself, it would be an interesting meta humour to see characters playing Puppet Wars of all things.

-To further the chess is universal thing, many people who don't actively play chess still know the rules. The chance of two people being able to randomly sit down and have a game of chess, whether it is in a prison or a park, is much higher with chess than almost any other game aside from the truly simplistic (tic-tac-toe, checkers, etc.).

-As someone who actually PLAYS miniatures games (and would be the sort that would actually recognize something like Puppet Wars for what it is), it would kill my suspension of disbelief. You're telling me that two people who are expected to be antagonistic towards each other play a game where each would be expected to have their own collection?

Nah. I'd stick to chess. If you wanted to have a nod towards something like Puppet Wars (provided Wyrd is ok with it), it's better to be in the background on a shelf. Maybe have a character pick it up and set it back down in favour of the chess set.

Side note: During the Coon 3 parter on South Park, there is a scene where they are looking in on a gathering of cultists. On the shelf? Arkham Horror. With multiple expansions (as I recally, "Arkham Horror 7" was one of them), poking fun at how many expansions the game has. People like me, people familiar with board games and especially THAT board game, got a chuckle out of it. It was an extra reference or joke done right. There was no further symbolism I feel.