The television show LOST has certainly proved to be a thought-provoking effort, and there's gaming inspiration aplenty to be found there. Indeed, though I haven't read the work, Pagan Publishing's Final Flight seems to owe at least a nod to the show.
I don't think an actual RPG based on the show would work unless the players are unfamiliar with the show—in which case it might make for some great investigative/action gaming. (Future post on this perhaps...)
The heart of LOST, beyond its many mysteries and layered plot threads, was the depth of its characters. We were presented with a bevy of interesting characters, all with their own personal strengths and demons, and as a viewer I found myself rooting for most all of them, even as they disagreed with each other, sometimes made stupid (if very understandable) mistakes, and had conflicts.
POSSIBLE SHOW SPOILERS AHEAD - YOU WERE WARNED
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The conclusion of LOST left many big unanswered questions, specifically the nature and origin of the island itself. Perhaps this was for the best. Like most, I yearn fort real answers and find out the whole story, but mysteries solved are, well, no longer mysterious.
When I was very young I learned a lot of magic tricks, and I still remember my profound disappointment when I learned the secret (which I won't detail here) of the famous linking rings trick. My reaction was along the lines of, "That's it?!? That's how it's done?" Since then, watching the trick is far less magical, as might be expected. In the case of LOST, I'm probably much better off not knowing how the rings link.
The final episode raised many questions even as it answered others. The final scene behind the credits may prove the most haunting yet, though I suspect it was thrown in just to get folks talking and doesn't really imply what some might think.
In that spirit of mystery, I offer a "dirty dozen" pressing questions:
1. What's up with Walt? Clare's baby? It was implied both were psychic/special. Was the polar bear in the comic a mere coincidence? (And speaking of, how did the polar bear get over to the main island from hydra Island? Swim?)
2. If Locke/Samuel was "evil incarnate" why would he become mortal when the stopper was pulled from the pool of light?
3. Why did the Black Smoke spare Mr. Echo, and then kill him later? Why did it appear as a horse to Kate? (Was a horse ever on the island? If not, how could the Smoke take its shape?)
4. Desmond—with difficultly—was able to remove the stopper because he was immune to electromagnetic events (and how did he get that way?); so how did Jack pull off a similar feat? Was it a power bestowed by Jacob?
5. Who was Jacob's surrogate mother? Who was Jacob's real mother?
6. Why were certain people (Miles, Richard, etc.) missing from the final church scene? Why that dizzy blonde Shannon instead of Nadia? (Was this because Nadia never visited the island? But Penny never set foot on the island either!)
7. Why did Daniel Faraday's mother advise Desmond not to gather everyone in the LAX reality?
8. In the LAX reality, Charlie described having an after-life experience but being "saved" by Jack. Doesn't this imply he was ready to move on from the LAX purgatory? (And why were all the other LAX details needed in purgatory, such as the gangsters, Jack's being married and then divorced from Juliet, etc? For closure?)
9. Who made the Latin annotations on the Hatch blast wall blacklight map?
10. Why was Dogen's presence in the temple supposed to protect everyone from the Black Smoke? What was the ash/powder that formed a barrier against the creature?
11. Why could no women on the island, save perhaps Clare and Russo, give birth? Is this condition connected to Jacob's surrogate mother?
12. What's up with all the Egyptian iconography? Why were members of the Dharma Initiative learning heirogyphics (which they were, based on blackboard notes)? Why the Egyptian characters in the hatch countdown device?
Bonus question(s): Why did poor Hurley suffer such bad luck associated with the numbers? How did the Dharma people know to stamp the numbers into the metal?
And the biggest mystery of them all: HERE.
