Words by David C. Obenour
It’s Friday night and your choices for what to watch are limited by the cassettes carried at the rental shop down the street. Thankfully there’s a fellow freak at work stocking the shelves and you have a decent selection of pulp, schlock, gore, and thinly-held-together mysticism to choose from. Be kind and rewind back to a time of low budgets, campy effects, and limited choices for questionable outcomes!
Very Horror Stories exist in the last decades of the 20th century, where entertainment was delivered by Video Home Systems in beat up cardboard sleeves. With no shortage of inspiration to draw from, Aces Games delivers this beautiful packaged and concepted range of role playing games with settings for players to tell their own stories in slashers, scifi, horror, and beyond.
Off Shelf: Can you tell me your own history with underground and pulp cinema? How did you first discover it and what has kept you interested in it in its many forms for all of these years?
Simone Morini: My experience with cinema is very amateur. I don’t consider myself a critic or an expert by any means, but what cinema has given me – and the films I cherish most – comes from the evenings spent with my family, watching a stack of rented VHS tapes in our small town. For that reason, they have a very special place in my heart!
OS: What do you see as the appeal of what others might consider “obsolete media”
SM: It’s a format that brings me back in time, and I am highly influenced by nostalgia! They remind me of times that were, in a certain sense, simpler and more emotionally rich.
OS: A selection of these movies are enjoying a current renaissance with production companies like Vinegar Syndrome, Shout, and others doing rereleases complete with remarkable packaging and artwork. How do you think this presentation improves or changes the experience of these movies from their modest initial releases?
SM: I’m not too familiar with them, but I have seen some of their work. I’d say they’re doing a fantastic job! Especially in keeping cult classics alive.
OS: Do you feel at all concerned about the gatekeeping that comes with obsolete media being more challenging for the average consumer to actually experience or engage with?
SM: I think it all comes down to how a product is presented. Vintage will always have a certain allure, but it’s crucial to work on generational bridging to keep these past tools alive. However, there’s always a desire to look back, both for “older folks” like me and for the younger generation.
OS: What is your history with role playing games? What do you like about the style of play it inspires, different from board games and video games?
SM: I’ve been playing role-playing games since I was twelve. I find it extremely stimulating to have the ability to shape a world through storytelling, but what excites me even more is creating a way for others to build these worlds. Essentially, I’m now 90% creator and 10% player. I’m no longer as interested in playing role-playing games unless it’s occasional. Instead, I prefer to channel all my energy into exploring new ways to apply RPG mechanics.
OS: Can you tell me about some of your first thoughts about “Very Horror Stories” as a game? What were some of the initial inspirations – either from movies or gaming – that started to formulate the idea for translating this setting into role playing games?
SM: There was a particular film that inspired me greatly, and once I finished watching it, I had a kind of revelation about how horror films could blend seamlessly with a game system—not just role-playing, but also board games—that could utilize all the visual elements typical of a movie. Honestly, the idea for VHS box-shaped games didn’t come to me gradually; it struck like lightning in just a few minutes. I think the flame of nostalgia burns brightly within me, and with VHS, I really poured fuel on that fire! [laughs]
OS: What do you see as the unique ways in which these genres build worlds for gamers to adventure in?
SM: All my games are connected in some way. For example, some monsters from VHS are mentioned in other titles, but I won’t reveal anything else for now. [laughs] The fun of easter eggs is discovering them on your own!
OS: Are there other genres you’d still like to explore as settings within Very Horror Stories?
SM: A ton! Too many to achieve with the time available. I’d love to dive into Japanese horror, classic black-and-white horror, or even psychological horror. But the truth is, the themes are endless!