From Screen to Tabletop 2
This blog post is part of an ongoing series where I explore the techniques TV and film makers use to produce stories and how we can translate and apply some of these techniques to create and GM satisfying RPG stories.
The Bottle Episode
A bottle episode is one where the entirety of the episode takes place on the standing sets already constructed for the TV show. The episode takes place in a bottle.
Example: Community S2-E8 “Cooperative Calligraphy”
In this episode of Community, a diverse group of misfits attend Greendale Community College and, in the first episode, form a study group. Most episodes feature the characters around the tables in the study room, discussing details of the storyline, building character, and snarking at each other.
This episode takes place pretty much entirely in this study room. One character, Abed—a meta-textual examiner of their life as if it were a TV show—even remarks aloud to the other characters (and to the audience) that they’re in a bottle episode.
On the Screen
Bottle episodes serve one primary purpose in serial television: to save money. Since they’re only using standing sets, and often only the series regulars with minimal guest stars, bottle episodes are relatively inexpensive to produce. Money saved can then be put toward other episodes with larger set requirements, many guest stars, and more expensive sequences, like fights and special effects.
But, bottle episodes also provide a unique opportunity to delve deep into characters and character relationships than might otherwise happen when screen time must go to guest stars and other types of scenes.
In the referenced episode of Community, this is very much the case. The action centers on the group trying to figure out who stole Annie’s pen. Though, this is really just a jumping off point to examining the characters’ relationships with each other, their motivations, and their foibles.
There are more benefits to bottle episodes, but let’s save them for how they can be implemented in your game.
At the Table
How can we apply the benefits inherent in a “bottle game session?” It’s mostly a matter of knowing which benefits you want to use and figuring out how to mesh them. There are more benefits to this type of game session than you might expect, so take care not to overburden yourself, lest the game session get muddied and unfocused.
Character Relationships: You can use this type of game session to focus largely on character relationships. Got a rivalry coming to a head? Now is the time for those characters to get into it. Is one character feeling left out or unappreciated? It’s time to let them confront the others.
Pacing: A session taking place all in one location—and likely without many enemy fights—lends itself to a slower pace. The session can serve as a nice rest between the fantasy adventurers’ constant saving of the kingdom. You can draw out the roleplay and reminisce a bit about the campaign so far. Loosening things up for one session can be a nice change of…um…pace.
Backstory Elements: A “bottle session” can be the perfect time to let character backstory shine. If one or more of the characters has a secret or bit of backstory that hasn’t yet been revealed, prompt those players to bring those things up. This is especially useful if the backstory element is somehow tied to an ongoing conflict or storyline? One spy team member has a parent who was a double agent, is presumed dead, and may hold the key to an ongoing storyline? Rather than just have the team go off to find the parent, let the character tell the parent’s story and grapple with all the angst and anguish associated with their lineage.
Home Base: A “bottle session” is the perfect opportunity to explore the characters’ “home base.’ It’s often easy for the players to simply declare how their characters spend some downtime at the tavern or holodeck or superteam’s mystery base in the hollowed out volcano…and then they’re off to the next adventure. What if they inherited their home? Surely there are some hidden rooms or secrets there. What if they have been planning to upgrade their defenses? Now is a great time to break out those plans and argue about where the money should be spent first.
Elsewhere: The game world doesn’t stop while the characters hang out for a session. If there are storylines underway, they continue. What if the “bottle session” is happening because the characters are trapped in the shuttle bay by malfunctioning security measures or an AI gone bad? They need to get out fast to stop the galactic prince’s assassination.
Using Tension: Having all the characters cooped up in one location can create a great deal of tension for a variety of reasons. You can build on that by introducing things that ramp up that tension. Are two characters angry at each other from the previous game session? Give them both ways to instigate more tension with the other. Let the other characters get in the middle of things. Bring everything to a head. And then guide the players toward a place where a truce—or forgiveness—might be found.
Shorter Prep Time: For this type of session, you might be leaning more heavily on the players to bring the roleplaying. Line up a few key player-focused ideas from the list above and, boom, you’ve prepared a “bottle session.”
You can mix and match these “bottle session” benefits in a wide variety of ways. Find a few that mesh well together and have at it. If you have players who latch onto roleplaying prompts easily, you don’t even have to prepare that many; the players will see what’s happening and bring the drama to the story.
This IGDN blog article is brought to you by Craig Campbell of NerdBurger Games. If you want to get in touch with the contributor they can be reached at NerdBurgerGames@gmail.com or visit their website at NerdBurgerGames.com.