A request for a replacement term
2007-09-27So, given that the “More” does indeed hide the rest of the text from the RSS feed, I can now ask my question. This involves the use of a PG-13 term (at least, that would be my rating for it), so I’m putting it below the fold.
But it is a serious question.
So, the subtitle for Sons of Liberty is “A Game of Freedom and Badassery”. This seems like a particularly American sentiment, which I’ll discuss below. But it’s not one that I generally use in polite company, or in nearly any company, actually. However, I’m at a loss to come up with a suitable replacement for “badass”. So, I’m asking all my loyal readers if they have any replacements.
Here’s the thing, though. It does seem like the right word for the game. The designer has said that the game is about considering and celebrating being American. And, honestly, the word “badass”, especially by “freedom”, seems to sum up a lot of what Americans find appealing. That’s what makes most action movies tick, after all. And it does sum up gameplay of Sons of Liberty, which tends to be loud and just a hair obnoxious to the neighbors. (Have I mentioned that our playtest of Sons of Liberty at GenCon was interrupted once by hotel security, asking us to quiet down a bit?) There’s something oddly American about the whole thing.
After all, we tend to be loud, obnoxious, crass, over the top, idealistic, loyal, blunt, and free-spirited to a fault. And we like our heroes to be the same, but moreso. So, can you figure out another word that sums all this up? Please?
Yeah, “badderrière” really doesn’t have the same effect, does it? >:-)
In the spirit of Merriam-Webster, here is our word, used in a sentence.
This is partly for humor value (at least to me), and partly to demonstrate how it’s really rather hard to find a substitute word that will carry the same sense of passion, approval, and buttkicking.
And now I want to watch Aliens again.