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Is RPGing a *literary* endeavour?
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7605947" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>That's actually not what the OP says.</p><p></p><p>Colour, obviously, is fundamental to heaps of RPGing. (Maybe not some classic dungeoncrawling.) I don't think the word "colour" appears in the OP. The OP does say <em>RPGing requires narration: GMs describe situations</em> - that narration and description will involve colour.</p><p></p><p>My claim is about the focus of, and foundation of, emotional engagement in RPGing. As the OP says, <em>What matters to me is that the players feel the significance of the situations the GM describes - that they feel the pull to action, and the threats of inaction. That is, that the situation engage and motivate the players as players, not as an audience to a performance.</em></p><p></p><p>I don't know where you see <em>clarity</em> coming from in this discussion.</p><p></p><p>It's helpful if - say - stereo installation instructions are clear, but that doesn't show that writing such instructions is a <em>literary</em> endeavour.</p><p></p><p>RPGing involves communication. Communication can be facilitated by clarity. (Though it's a threshold issue, not "the more the better", which already shows us the difference from literary quality.) This doesn't show that RPGing is <em>literary</em> or oriented towards <em>performance</em>.</p><p></p><p>This is obviously false, given the following from the OP:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>There are different ways of evoking emotion by saying things to people. The formal aesthetic qualities of what is said and how it is said (metre and cadence, rhyme, alliteration, precise word choice and word contrast, modulation of tone and volume, etc) is one way. Acting and recitation depend on these devices. When I give a lecture, these are important things.</p><p></p><p>Another way to evoke emotion by saying things is to <em>say things that hook onto what the interlocutor cares about</em>. This typically does not depend upon those formal aesthetic qualities - one can, for instance, pause and reframe; hesitate, inviting some request for direction or clarifiation from the interlocutor; allow volume and tone to <em>follow</em> emotion rather than lead it.</p><p></p><p>I'm expressing a view about which RPGing is more like.</p><p></p><p> [MENTION=85555]Bedrockgames[/MENTION] and I disagree on many things about RPGing. But having read Bedrockgames's posts to this thread, I think he understands what I am saying and largely agrees. Oddly enough that happens sometimes!</p><p></p><p>And on that topic:</p><p></p><p>This is true for me also.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7605947, member: 42582"] That's actually not what the OP says. Colour, obviously, is fundamental to heaps of RPGing. (Maybe not some classic dungeoncrawling.) I don't think the word "colour" appears in the OP. The OP does say [I]RPGing requires narration: GMs describe situations[/I] - that narration and description will involve colour. My claim is about the focus of, and foundation of, emotional engagement in RPGing. As the OP says, [I]What matters to me is that the players feel the significance of the situations the GM describes - that they feel the pull to action, and the threats of inaction. That is, that the situation engage and motivate the players as players, not as an audience to a performance.[/I] I don't know where you see [I]clarity[/I] coming from in this discussion. It's helpful if - say - stereo installation instructions are clear, but that doesn't show that writing such instructions is a [I]literary[/I] endeavour. RPGing involves communication. Communication can be facilitated by clarity. (Though it's a threshold issue, not "the more the better", which already shows us the difference from literary quality.) This doesn't show that RPGing is [I]literary[/I] or oriented towards [I]performance[/I]. This is obviously false, given the following from the OP: [indent][/indent] There are different ways of evoking emotion by saying things to people. The formal aesthetic qualities of what is said and how it is said (metre and cadence, rhyme, alliteration, precise word choice and word contrast, modulation of tone and volume, etc) is one way. Acting and recitation depend on these devices. When I give a lecture, these are important things. Another way to evoke emotion by saying things is to [I]say things that hook onto what the interlocutor cares about[/I]. This typically does not depend upon those formal aesthetic qualities - one can, for instance, pause and reframe; hesitate, inviting some request for direction or clarifiation from the interlocutor; allow volume and tone to [I]follow[/I] emotion rather than lead it. I'm expressing a view about which RPGing is more like. [MENTION=85555]Bedrockgames[/MENTION] and I disagree on many things about RPGing. But having read Bedrockgames's posts to this thread, I think he understands what I am saying and largely agrees. Oddly enough that happens sometimes! And on that topic: This is true for me also. [/QUOTE]
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