The Genre Roulette resembles smaller version of the roulette from Wheel of Fortune. However, as soon as it is spun, the words on the wheel all change until the wheel stops, and whatever the arrow is pointing at when it's done will become true for the universe at large. Yes, the entire universe.
Specifically, it changes the universe's genre. For example, if the wheel were to land on Comedy, then every moment from then on would be part of the build up or execution of a gag; If it were to land on Ghost Story, then events would conspire to bring the protagonist into contact with spirits from beyond.
The wheel features more than just literary genres; Genres of music, and even of video games appear on it as well. It's even possible for a work to "jump category," changing into a genre usually alien to its medium... Which often has strange and interesting results.
The wheel doesn't directly change the setting or the characters of the universe it's spun in; Usually, a slight change to the way events play out is all that's required. However, some genres do denote setting, as well; The more specific ones, such as Western or Film Noir, may physically change the world to incorporate elements reminiscent of the old west or 1940's urban America, respectively.
Similarly, the device will only change characters insofar as the new genre requires; If a boy spins and the arrow ends up pointing at "Magical Girl," the spinner and other lead characters will most likely change. It also has the side effect of making whoever spins the wheel the protagonist of the story, even if they were a mere bit player beforehand.
Oh, and altering an entire universe's nature isn't easy work, so the device needs to recharge for a week between spins.
Sun Feb 19 00:57:59 2017
3 comments Last updated: Tue Feb 21 03:58:01 2017