Deathmatch Island RPG fuses Lost with Squid Game, and a little Severance too

polygon.com:

Tim Denee and Evil Hat Productions’ upcoming tabletop role-playing game Deathmatch Island draws on the lethal stakes of competition in Squid Game and The Hunger Games, with characters forming temporary alliances before inevitably turning on each other in a battle royale. But the fast-paced RPG, which launches a crowdfunding campaign through BackerKit on Oct. 17, also works to capturethe mystery of Lost and Severance. Your character is likely to die, but that just gives your next character the opportunity to puzzle out what’s going on behind the scenes and fight against the game itself.

“To me, the appeal of these kinds of TV shows and movies is the psychological aspect,” Denee told Polygon. “Like a good zombie movie, it’s really about who the main characters are and what they will or won’t do under pressure. It’s about solidarity against the odds just as much as it is about the actual battle royale.”

Much like the characters in Severance, contestants on Deathmatch Island wake up with no memory of who they are or how they got on a boat leading them to the mysterious place. Creating a new character is easy, since all a player needs to do initially is pick a name, simple description, and occupation, all of which can be rolled from random tables. The description is even made a bit easier because all the competitors are dressed in matching uniforms.

The game master, referred to as Production, will give each character a secret motivation like winning money or becoming famous. The job they choose will determine what aspects of the competition they’re best at, so a flight attendant thrives at the social game while a steelworker is better at physical challenges. Before their first challenge, characters participate in trust