ESSAYS ON GAME DESIGN

Essay Ten: U Plus (U+)


You, Plus

Synopsis: Use this method of development and creation to improve both your character and yourself. For it is a method of developing a character based upon your real self, only better.


Note: If you consider Role Play Gaming an activity that is totally divorced from the real world and your real self, or relatedly if you think gaming should be used to escape or get away from yourself, then this method will probably be of no value to you. If however you consider gaming an activity that is complimentary to or a natural part of your larger and greater life then this method of self and character development may very well be useful to you in more than one way. I should also point out that this article (I should develop a better term for this kind of work) is also an interactive essay (meaning you may add to it, or write your own related essay in the response posts). So if after reading this piece you should decide to make your own suggestions as to variations upon the method, or to critique it, or it has inspired a related set of ideas, then feel free to comment and to contribute. Given the limitations or caveat of course of the first sentence of this note. There is no need to point out that, “I have no interest in playing that way because I think gaming should be entirely escapist and unreal.” I already understand that viewpoint. I am not arguing it, and I think it would be useless to spend my time debating that viewpoint as it is diametrically opposed to this method of character and game development. I am however presenting a contrary set of principles. A different model and paradigm for both approaching the game, and for assessing (and exploring) how the game might be useful in a wider sense to one’s larger life. That having been said though if you have a real critique to make or some form of improvement you’d like to suggest regarding this method of game and character development then feel free to weigh in with your comments. I will respond as soon as my schedule allows, and of course you do not need me to discuss or debate these ideas. You can do that quite well enough among yourselves.

Indirectly related to this method of character development is the idea behind the Renaissance Gild, which I do not intend to create a gaming thread about, but the basics of which can be found posted to my blogs. In this sense then you might think of this method of character development as the gaming or avocational version of the Renaissance Gild.


U+: This is a form of Player and Character creation and development that is basically applicable to any role-play gaming system, and maybe to other types of gaming systems as well. I will use D&D as an example of how to apply and play the system as regards the attributes, but it could be used with or applied to any of the attributes of any character during most any type or genre of game. Just so the terms I’ve used won’t be confusing to anyone reading and trying to understand what I’m saying I’ve included a Definition of Terms supplement to the end of this article.

Instead of rolling for character attributes, using any artificial or traditional system, what one does is analyze one’s own (personal or individual) attributes and then apply those to the necessary character attributes. The intention is to produce a character whose attributes mirror your own real world attributes as closely as possible, or at least as closely as desired. This is the You part of the equation, or the Y.O.U. Stage. I’ll get to the Plus part in a moment, which is the second stage of the entire process.

How do you determine and fix your own attributes to a character?

Well, rather than give you a static and not necessarily accurate system for your own game, the way we do it is in three steps. These simple and basic steps can be applied to any gaming system with very little if any necessary modification.


Character Creation:

First and foremost, analyze yourself. Be as brutally honest about yourself, your capabilities, your strengths and your weaknesses as possible. This gives you a basic idea of what you (as a person) would be like as compared to the gaming system that you use to affix attribute scores. The point of this step is to try to express your real self and your real attributes in a gaming form suitable to the way characters are expressed within the gaming system you are using.

Secondly, you and your fellow players and your DM or GM must decide on a “Value-Method.” For example, how do you value strength, and how do you set a strength-value? For instance if a person can bench press 120 pounds (in real life) does that give him a strength of 12? Or, do you take a given real world number or target, say if one is able to bench press 350 (or more) pounds (meaning that if you can really bench press 350 pounds you would have an equivalent game strength of 18), and then let people work out a percentage of what their own strength would mean proportionally and in comparison to that standard? It doesn’t really much matter (within reason) how you set the values or by use of what method, as long as you are consistent and everyone can use the same value standards to determine their own real world abilities and attributes. Of course some attributes, for instance, Wisdom, Charisma, or even Intelligence (in some cases) will be much harder to affix and apply as an objective standard to both player and character. I’ll explain a method of resolving that problem in step three.

Third, the individual player gets together with all of his other players, and with the DM or GM, goes over the attribute scores he has assigned his character which were based upon his own real world attributes, and then negotiation and compromise begins. For instance if a player sees himself as 14 strength (in both real life and correspondingly for the score he desires for his character) but most other people in the gaming group see him as either a 16 (or a 12 if going in the opposite direction), then a compromise might be reached in which the player settles upon a strength value score of 15 (or a 13 if most think him weaker than he thinks himself). Then the same is done with every attribute and every character until agreement or consensus is reached. How long this third step takes, and whether agreement is reached quickly or slowly I suspect would depend upon the nature of the group and the players and DM(s) involved.

After these three steps are finished every player now has a character with all attributes assigned, and each character more or less precisely reflects the nature of the actual player (at least as far as the agreed upon attribute scores are concerned). This is the YOU step of the process, and is the Character Creation stage.

This system of assigning character attribute values is not nearly as easy or quick as more traditional methods, nor nearly as arbitrary as chance, accident, and die roll. But it does provide an excellent system for player-character sympathy and association, and it is a superb method of encouraging both player (individual person) and character development throughout the course of play.


Character Development:

After the Character Creation stage comes the Plus stage. In the plus stage the intention is to foster both on-going and long-term development on the part of both the player and the character. This is accomplished in the following way.

A player chooses one (or more, but I recommend one) attribute in which he or she feels they (both player and character) are weak or deficient or not as promising as they wish to be. For instance if a player feels that both he and his character are not as physically healthy as they wish to be (reflected in D&D game terms as Constitution) then they choose that attribute which reflects their dissatisfaction with their health and toughness (Constitution). Within the game the character then sets out, whenever opportunities present themselves, to increase or augment their Constitution. To improve their constitution score, augment it, or add to it. To build it up. This could be achieved through any number of ways. Through the reading and practice of manuals of health, through exercises designed to increase health and toughness, through seeking cures for diseases, through magic or scientific advances, through self-monitoring and careful observation followed by corrective action, and so on and so forth. Or, ideally, one could employ a combination of useful methods. The point is that over a period of time one sets out to improve the character’s abilities and capabilities within the realm of the targeted Attribute.

At the same time a corresponding effort is made by the player in his non-gaming time (though to a degree the in-game efforts could be considered a form of practice or habit reformation for the real world effort) to achieve the same effect. If the player chose to strengthen his character’s Constitution then he attempts in the real world to do the same for himself. By whatever means necessary (within reason and that is legal and ethical) and by whatever means is actually effective and beneficial. The point is to achieve a concurrent and practical desired improvement on the part of both the player and the character in regards to whatever attribute is targeted. (I use this system for the improvement of general gaming attributes, but it could just as easily, with some modification, be applied to simultaneous player-character improvement in other areas of ability, such as in co-development of particular skills or skill sets.)

The same general process of development can be applied to any attribute (or skill, or capability) one wishes to improve, or to gain new advantage in. So one is not limited, of course, to the example I gave regarding Constitution. One could improve one’s Intelligence, Charisma, Wisdom, Dexterity, observational skills, deductive capabilities, tracking ability, etc. The important thing is that one makes the effort to find effective methods of improving and beneficially developing one’s attributes and/or capabilities both in-game and in the real world. Improving one’s character is used as encouragement and motivation for improving one’s self and vice versa. (The character then becomes a sort of “imaginary model” for corresponding self-development.) Methods of co-development may also be complimentary.

Reading magical manuals to improve one’s strength in-game might correspond to reading books on exercise and fitness and developing weight programs to train one’s physical self in real life. Real world exercises might lead to one developing certain game exercises that have the same effects on one’s character (used in the widest sense of the term to reflect both in-game character and real world character).

One also needs to choose a target objective to develop a suitable time-frame in which real achievements and improvements can be made and measured. The time frame really doesn’t matter as long as verifiable, measurable, and beneficial improvements can actually be made within the agreed upon limits of the time frame or timeline involved. Just as a recommendation however I suggest one year of real world and playing time for a target objective of increasing an attribute by one point (gaining a new one point advantage to the attribute). This gives one time enough to read, research, exercise, practice, and make actual and real improvements and generally still have enough reserve time to deal with family and work demands, as well as to accommodate the unforeseen demands of the accidental occurrence or the unexpected situation. (This is in fact my exact method of employing U+, I use a timeline/time-frame of one year real world playing time to try and make improvements to both my character and myself.)

Through this method one can also achieve complimentary secondary or tertiary objectives. For instance a player wishes to increase both his own strength and his character’s strength. Correspondingly he also wishes to lose (or gain) weight in real life in conjunction with his increase in strength. There may be no need at all for his character to gain or lose weight, but increasing strength and gaining or losing weight in real life may very well be complimentary goals for the player. (For example the player feels he or she is too fat or too thin in real life, but his or her character is of an ideal weight. The character then can serve as a sort of imaginary goal for desired weight and/or physique on the part of the player. Playing the character reinforces this complimentary secondary goal much as it reinforces the other primary goals of attribute and skill development.) So at the same time the player is seeking to increase both his own and his character’s strength he is also looking to lose or gain weight using the same basic principles of development. The practical uses of such a system of development are like the game you play itself, limited only by the power of your own imagination, creativity and desire. It is, because of this, an extremely useful method of Role Play, for the overall intention is to use one’s role to simultaneously develop both one’s imaginary character and one’s real self. Beneficially, positively, and through a method that promotes an on-going basis for continued improvement to both player and character.

Therefore after improvements have been made to the initial target attribute, through whatever method works and in whatever time frame is possible then one may continue to make new improvements to the same attribute (or set of attributes, or skill-set) or move on to a new attribute, set of attributes, or skill, or skill-set. Again the limits outlined by the actual possibilities are merely self-imposed. What you choose to intentionally change and improve is up to you, and your gaming group.


Now, at this point and as a side-note, I am not saying that I think gaming, of any kind, role play gaming included, should be one’s chief, much less one’s only, method of self-improvement, or of any type of improvement. There are many methods of improvement one could undertake, some more effective than others, and gaming should be used as but one tool in the overall toolkit. However I am saying that gaming, role play gaming in particular, because of the very nature of the type of gaming involved, is a perfectly suitable method of training, exercising, and practicing not only one’s role and character, but by extension, one’s real self through that role and character. That gaming can be used as a novel and effective method of focus and encouragement to make improvements to one’s character and to one’s nature, in more than one way, and in the widest possible sense of the terms of both improvement, and character. That one can easily use one’s full force of imagination (through the vehicle of role play gaming) as complimentary to and as a form of exercise towards real improvement in the real world.

(It is at least as vital a method of potential self-improvement as observationally passive methods of skill absorption such as, “How I learned to be a leader from watching Captain Kirk,” or, “What the movies taught me about how to succeed in business without really trying.” But you can’t role-play or experiment with techniques regarding leadership by merely watching Capitan Kirk on television or on-screen. You can however experiment and test different methodologies of action and success through the mechanism of your role-playing character. For that matter you can even role-play Captain Kirk if you wish and over time improve both the character, and correspondingly, yourself.

Conversely I suppose it could be said that gaming could be used as a form of practice for developing or improving malignant traits, or for practicing habits of degeneration rather than regeneration and improvement. That, like anything, it could be used positively or negatively. But I am not making that suggestion. I am rather proposing that it can be used as one method of improvement, and even of encouraging and focusing one towards goals of real achievement in the real world, rather than merely fantasy achievements in an imaginary world.)


A Brief Note on Developmental Background of this Method: In my setting the players have used the Y.O.U. (which stands for Your Own Utility, or usefulness) system of character creation for a long while now. Some time ago I encouraged my players to create characters that mirrored themselves in attributes (or in whatever other way they wished) as closely as possible. It has worked out very well for us and has the added advantage of creating a natural sense of association and sympathy on the part of the player with his character. (Imagine for instance playing a video game or a virtual reality game in which it was obvious the character was you, rather than some artificially created or contrived character only vaguely or suggestively like you in some ways and very much unlike you in others.) However after some experimentation with NPCs and characters who reflected my own attributes and nature I decided to also add the Plus part of the equation to encourage on-going and long-term development on the part of both the Player and the Character. It became, at that point, not merely a method of creating characters like the player, but of simultaneously developing and improving both character and player.

This system of course is flexible and open to many forms of alteration and experimentation, and I encourage both. For instance rather than the process I described above the player might choose one real attribute about himself which is a different attribute than that of his character, which he wishes to improve, augment, or increase. So that the processes of character and player improvement become parallel tracks of development, rather than corresponding tracks of development.

Another form of variation is that one can affix or assign values as I originally outlined, but players retain a “reserve value,” which is merely a group agreed upon number that they can apply to any one attribute they wish that they feel is too low or not a fair reflection of their own personal attributes. When creating their character they hold that number or value in reserve and then use it as they wish after all of the attributes have been initially determined. Adding it to what they feel is the deficient attribute score, from their point of view.

These are just a couple of possible variations upon the You Plus formula and process of character creation and development. Many others are possible and through experimentation the players and the gaming group can reach the best possible format of this system for their own game.

Also I should point out that not every player need employ this system, should one choose to use it in one’s game(s). That is to say that one player might want to use U+, another might wish to use a traditional method of character generation and improvement, hybrid systems might well develop, and so forth. The only real problem of employment is one of agreement, how and in what specific way one’s group agrees to employ the system.


Definition of Terms:

You or Y.O.U. – Stands for Your Own Utility. Basing character attributes for your gaming character (of whatever system or genre) upon the corresponding real world attributes of the player who will play the character. Values are determined and set by the individual Gaming Group.

Plus – The system that encourages simultaneous development (or some variation thereof) of both the character and the player through game play, and through related outside activities.

Gaming Group – The particular group of players and the DM or GM involved in any given game or set of games. The entire gaming group determines character-player interaction values and how exactly the U+ system is employed and works within the context of their particular game or games.

You Stage – The stage of character creation. Divided into three basic steps. 1. Self-analysis. 2. Determination of Agreed Upon Value Method(s). 3. Group-analysis, Consensus, and assigning of Final Values and Scores.

Plus Stage – The stage of character development. On-going and future oriented.

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Jack7

THE RENAISSANCE GILD – AN INTRODUCTION


Synopsis: The Renaissance Gild is a simple yet effective method of fully developing a wide range of skills within a single individual, and of self-development of the polymathic capabilities and ingenuity inherent in each person.

Introduction: I have been working on this idea for well over thirty years (in one way or another), the accompanying Theory Paper and assorted supplementary material regarding this project for about three years now, and my own Personal Gild Program for a little over a decade. Anyway I thought it was about time to put the idea into wider circulation, both among my friends and colleagues, and as regards the world at large.

What the Renaissance Gild Is: The Renaissance Gild is less a formal agency, organization, group, or club, than it is intended to be an informal "movement of individuals." Though it could also easily become an informal movement among a vast number of individuals (my hope is that this is exactly what will develop over time), or it could even become a more formalized structure for group accomplishment, but I would not want such a movement or organization to in any way suppress or hinder the noteworthy accomplishments of individual Gild members. What is most important about the Gild is the promotion of individual achievement, not the primacy of formal group structure or exclusivity. Indeed no "membership" of any kind is required or necessary other than an honest motivation to achieve and accomplish and the steady, persistent, and patient labor demanded for real and lasting success.

How the Renaissance Gild Operates: One needs no formal degree or training in order to participate in the Gild. One may be self-educated, formally and institutionally well educated (I am both, and I recommend both if possible, but if a formal education is not possible or practical then I definitely recommend a good, solid program of self-education), or even not very well educated. One need not worry in any case, as one may counteract a poor education through a well-developed method of Renaissance Education, which I will discuss at another time.

The Gild is open to individuals of any age. A Gild member can be of any sex, race, background, nationality, or religion. Requirements regarding Gild members are not exclusionary, but rather progressive (not in the political sense, but in the objective sense) towards future achievement. What is actually required of the Gild member is hard work and serious study, along with much practice and persistent application to accomplish those things that are long lasting, practical, beneficial and useful, and/or broad in scope or accomplishment.

To this end I suggest three broad areas or categories of concentration for each Gild member: those of Art, Religion, and Science. Why do I recommend these particular areas of concentration for achievement to each Gild member? The reasons are simple, historical, and profound. Throughout human history, and indeed given what we know of human pre-history the same basic conditions apply, the greatest human advances have been made within these general categories of activity. Men have made their most important (and sometimes most destructive and counterproductive – but our intent is to avoid or overcome those malignant tendencies) discoveries and advances within the fields of Art, Religion, and Science. (I do not rank these categories of achievement in order of importance within my own mind, but rather for sake of simplicity, alphabetically.) Indeed nearly every form of human activity can be roughly classified as falling within the parameters of these three general subject areas.

For example, Art, from the very beginnings of human prehistory has been an important aspect of human expression, and perhaps just as importantly, of representing the world through images and symbols that others could understand.

Religion, also from pre-history onwards, has been an important, if not the most important to most people, method of rendering value to the world, of shaping how men behave towards their fellow man, and of speculating about conditions and events beyond the known and immediately evident world.

And Science (and I classify things like the earliest attempts at the creation of tools, of domesticating animals, of developing agriculture, etc. as acts of science or proto-science – even when such acts were not then understood to be scientific in the modern sense of the term) from man’s earliest roots has formed the basis for man’s attempts to control his environment and to understand and profit from his physical conditions.

Most things that people do or achieve can be classified as arising from an artistic, a religious, or a scientific impulse. Or sometimes from one or more category of activity working in conjunction with the others. For instance was the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel a religious act of devotion, an artistic act of inspiration, or a scientific endeavor requiring great skill and technical mastery? Or was it in truth not all three?

So these categories are certainly not hard and fixed, impenetrable the one to the other, but rather all forms of human activity are open, fluid, malleable, and osmotic, and therefore art, religion, and science far more often than not cross-fertilize one another in very productive and beneficial ways.

There are of course also fields of human activity that could be considered sub-categories of the general fields of Art, Religion, and Science. As an example some fields of human enterprise naturally fall into more than one category of classification. For instance both Business, and Athletic performance can variously, depending on the particular circumstance involved, be considered an Art, a Science, or both. For this reason as regards my own Renaissance Program, rather than trying to determine whether I think my business and athletic enterprises are more truly Art, or Science, or both, I simply classify them as separate sub-categories of activity. I do the same with the fields of Politics, Social and Civic Activities, and Philanthropy and Charity operations. I also maintain a separate category for my various Avocations, because some are scientific in nature, and some are artistic in nature, and rather than confuse or overcomplicate the point I simply classify them separately. But generally speaking, if I wished, and for sake of simplicity, I could easily enough classify even activities like business, athletics, philanthropy, and my avocations as being Artistic, Religious, or Scientific in character. For ease of understanding I will give my example of how the Renaissance Gild works by employing the simple and general categories of Art, Religion, and Science. But first let me give my own brief descriptions of how I define Art, Religion, and Science for the sake of understanding how the Gild best functions. You are of course not bound by these particular descriptions or definitions. I offer them merely for the sake of illustration and to provide clear and concise examples of possible and pragmatically functional definitions.

Art - All of those concerns normally associated with the Arts and with creative functions of all kinds. It is everything from sketching to film to architecture to painting to music to writing, and even to things like acting and dance (I have little personal interest in acting and dance, but they are arts, so I include them in this description). Art assists with the way one perceives the world, and with how one represents the world to others.


Religion - How a man conducts himself towards his fellow man, towards other creatures, towards his world, and towards God. How he disciplines his behavior and does good towards others. His moral character, the practice which assists him with bettering himself and the world, and most especially important, towards establishing, maintaining, and bettering his relationship with God. The example of God he follows, the closeness of God in his soul, his actions in this world, and how he prepares himself for his life after his physical death.


Science - The methods by which one seeks to perceive and understand the physical aspects (and perhaps in some cases, other aspects) of this universe, how it operates, and in what exact manner(s) it may operate. How one seeks to master and manipulate both matter and energy, and to what ultimate end and in what way. Science is both an act of seeking to understand the physical universe and to control it or shape it for the better.



An Example of How to Use the Renaissance Gild:

An individual chooses one major accomplishment or perhaps two or more minor accomplishments for every year to two years, as a stated goal for achievement in each of the three various categories of Art, Religion, and Science. Each person picks what is best and most natural to themselves as far as the exact goals to be attempted, and as regards the sub-categories and sub-disciplines within each general branch of Art, Religion, and Science to be undertaken.

For Example:

_____________________________________________

ART

I intend to paint three canvasses in oil detailing my famous ancestors, their backgrounds, environments, and some of their exploits – major achievement

Or

I will write and publish a small book of poetry, and learn to play the piano – minor accomplishments



RELIGION

I will go on an extended Missions trip to help the people of Madagascar with their spiritual, medical, and physical needs – major accomplishment

Or

I will assist the poor of my local community, and I will give more money to charity and/or volunteer more of my time to worthwhile charities – minor accomplishments



SCIENCE

I will perfect my invention to the best of my ability and thereafter market it for the benefit of the public and for my own benefit and profit – major accomplishment

Or

I will conduct experiments in chemistry, biochemistry, and medicine to develop a better method for preventing and treating burns, and I will use my new telescope to make detailed observations of the moon and nearby planets hoping to make a new discovery – minor accomplishments

___________________________________________

As I have previously noted one can also develop sub-categories of endeavor, such as Civic Accomplishments, Political Aims, Avocational Interests, etc. in which one can also detail one’s personal aims and objectives.


Of course what each individual considers a major, or a minor accomplishment will vary with the individual concerned, but I offer the following examples above as possible guidelines for developing your own Renaissance potential.

Once one accomplishes one’s stated desire within any given field or category of activity then one records that accomplishment in one’s Accomplishment List (discussed below) and replaces the accomplished goal with a new objective.

In time the aim of your personal Renaissance project is to develop a wide range of useful and beneficial skills, to study widely and to be able to converse ably and competently on nearly any subject, to become ever better at what you do best, and over time to fully develop and exploit your own set of talents, your own genius, and your own polymathic capabilities. What separates the ultimate objective of the Renaissance Project from a standard set of Goals and Objectives (which are usually limited and aimed at only a specific, discreet, or narrow intention) is the Real Purpose of the Renaissance Model. The aim of the Renaissance Model is not merely to achieve a certain set of goals - but to achieve a certain set of goals and objectives and thereby to accomplish certain important and worthwhile work while one lives in such a way as to master and develop one’s full range of Artistic, Religious, and Scientific capabilities simultaneously, and in conjunction with each other. The aim of the individual Renaissance Program is to develop one’s individual Artistic, Religious, and Scientific capabilities and abilities so that each field of endeavor supports and compliments the other, and so that a person can best exploit and express their own individual force of Arete. In that way one seeks to become both a polymath, and to gain a real mastery of understanding in the way different fields or disciplines of activity and knowledge interrelate the one to another. A secondary and yet vital benefit derived from the individual Renaissance Project is the fact that one becomes acutely and intimately aware of the full range and breadth of possible capabilities inherent within one’s self...

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Jack7