Well, I have read through Red Dwarf. My opinions of it are both yea and nay. The system itself is just Deep 7's universal cinematic system that was originally designed for action style shoot-em-ups. Plus, the book was written by a predominantly American crew. Another strike against it was that it really didn't include extensive information about the Red Dwarf universe. It had some, but it concentrated only on what was directly shown in the tv show. Everything alluded to in the show but never seen was just glossed over. The BIG problem was that the entire game was meant to be set up exactly like the tv series, only in alternate realities. That is, the campaign involves the mining ship Red Dwarf suffering a radiation leak and being placed in stasis for three million years where all of the crew dies, except the player characters who awaken in the far, far future. You can be the last human, a hologram, a robot or simulant, or an evolved cat (or dog, or rabbit, or mouse, or rat, or iguana), or a handful of other races from the Red Dwarf universe including one that looks like a cross between an orc and a wookie.
The GOOD parts about the game are, well.... oh hang dang it, the game is just FUNNY! Although written by Americans, it manages to capture the humor of the show to some extent (although merely writing about Lister and Rimmer verbally tearing into each other is nowhere near as hilarious as seeing it on screen). Also, the character flaws go out of their way to remain true to the show. You can not only be a coward or a psychological basket case, but also a Total Gimboid or a Complete Smeghead. Another plus is that they give you stats for most of the characters who played more than a cameo role in the show. Dog? He's here. Captain Hollister? Yep. Duane Dibley? You'd better believe it.
My mates and I have created characters and plan to play Red Dwarf now and then in between more serious games like Lord of the Rings (you all DO know I play LotR, right?). We have an Australian college student who accidentally found himself flung into the far, far future, an android with a chip on his shoulder and a penchant for wrestling moves, a sexy female Goth computer hacker who is actually an evolved cat (and is easily distracted by bright shiny objects, such as mirrors), and a hologram of Snake Plisskin.
My character is Tanner Doyle, a 20-year-old Australian with a broad smattering of skills from his college courses, but all at low levels of proficiency. Tanner is sort of a lazy kid who is more interested in rock climbing, party girls, and wacky weed than he is in ever finishing his studies. He's a laid-back dude, short but compact with good looks and a killer smile that he expects will be able to get him out of any tight spot. He was scaling Ayer's Rock one evening and had reached the summit. He settled down to smoke a few joints and enjoy the view. Sometime during the night he fell asleep and when he woke up he was on the deck of a gigantic mining ship over three million years in the future with absolutely no idea of how or why. Tanner, being Tanner, just sort of took it all in stride. And, being from 1978, he is a HUGE Star Wars fan (ie: Total Gimboid) who compares everything he is going through to his favorite film. Just wait until he finds out that there were five sequels to it!! "Vader is Luke's dad?? No way! You're lying to me, mate!"
More on the game as it develops.
