Blank Generation

BLANK GENERATION is a series of solo journaling RPGs that document the death of underground art scenes across the world, from 1976 to 2013. Each game uses the same trifold format and core mechanics, adapted to local context. Players create art, survive poverty, resist selling out, and document what's lost when cities kill their own culture.

🎲 Solo journaling RPG - no GM needed

📄 2-page tri-fold - print and play in minutes

⏱️ 1-2 hour sessions - perfect for an evening

Book I: BLANK GENERATION (1977-1983) 

The Birth

- CBGB, Max's Kansas City, Mudd Club, Danceteria

- Blackout to Basquiat, punk to No Wave

- Pure artistic struggle, underground scene at peak

Who are You?

You're an artist in NYC's underground scene. You're broke, brilliant, and burning out. Choose or create:

• Name: Who are you?
• Art Form: Roll on "What You're Making" (d6) or choose: Super-8 film, punk/No Wave music, performance art, visual art, zine/writing, or experimental theater
• One Detail: Where are you from? Why did you come to NYC? What's your day job (if any)?

Example: "Alex Chen, 22, from San Francisco. Makes Super-8 documentaries of the scene. Came to NYC after art school. Works nights at a printing shop when desperate."

This game is about documenting loss. You'll probably fail more than you succeed. You'll probably burn out. You'll probably leave the city or sell out or worse. That's not a bug—that's the point.

The question the game asks is: "Was it worth it?"

The answer you find through play is yours.

THE SCENE IS DYING. THE SCENE IS BEING BORN.
YOU'RE BROKE. YOU'RE BRILLIANT. YOU'RE BURNING OUT.
YOU'RE MAKING SOMETHING REAL.

THE CITY DOESN'T CARE.
THE WORK DEMANDS EVERYTHING.
MAKE SOMETHING THAT MATTERS.