Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Thinking About the Purpose of Mechanics from a Neo-Trad Perspective
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="The-Magic-Sword" data-source="post: 9214934" data-attributes="member: 6801252"><p>I think the problem here (putting aside that Kenada is easily one of the most open-minded people on the forum in the first place because there isn't much point in getting personal) is that interpreting roleplaying as an act of improv in the way that you're discussing gives it certain baggage, and by appropriating the terminology, we're inviting that baggage in-- it would suggest that improv theater has the right answers, which for some RPGs it might, but for others it won't.</p><p></p><p>This is very much Elusive Shift territory, where the essential goals of roleplaying differ considerably in line with different movements, and therefore we must be suspicious of painting them with too broad a brush. Some prominent voices (Scott of the Angry GM for instance, and Matt Collville of MCDM) would reject the idea that roleplaying is about 'improv' at all, but would both tell you in their own way that it's about making choices, and expressing the self of the character through those choices. Within that context, improv vis a vis improv theatre is actually a little problematic, because it's goal isn't the expression of character, its to surmount the lack of planning to put on an entertaining show that maximizes spontaneity.</p><p></p><p>I suspect many of the RPGs were fun for people who were not you, and not because of some essential element of improv, analysis of the literary kind that you're discussing (and I should know, it's what my higher education revolved around) isn't about good or bad, fun or not fun, it's generally about meaning, impact, cause, nuance derived from seeing the subject through different lenses of analysis. The bottom kind of fell out when you started advocating for what was essentially a 'common sense practical approach' because it suggested that simplification would yield better answers than abstraction, but that only makes sense if you're prepared to elide the dissenting voices <em>ex nihilo, </em>and declare a kind of victory of authority.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The-Magic-Sword, post: 9214934, member: 6801252"] I think the problem here (putting aside that Kenada is easily one of the most open-minded people on the forum in the first place because there isn't much point in getting personal) is that interpreting roleplaying as an act of improv in the way that you're discussing gives it certain baggage, and by appropriating the terminology, we're inviting that baggage in-- it would suggest that improv theater has the right answers, which for some RPGs it might, but for others it won't. This is very much Elusive Shift territory, where the essential goals of roleplaying differ considerably in line with different movements, and therefore we must be suspicious of painting them with too broad a brush. Some prominent voices (Scott of the Angry GM for instance, and Matt Collville of MCDM) would reject the idea that roleplaying is about 'improv' at all, but would both tell you in their own way that it's about making choices, and expressing the self of the character through those choices. Within that context, improv vis a vis improv theatre is actually a little problematic, because it's goal isn't the expression of character, its to surmount the lack of planning to put on an entertaining show that maximizes spontaneity. I suspect many of the RPGs were fun for people who were not you, and not because of some essential element of improv, analysis of the literary kind that you're discussing (and I should know, it's what my higher education revolved around) isn't about good or bad, fun or not fun, it's generally about meaning, impact, cause, nuance derived from seeing the subject through different lenses of analysis. The bottom kind of fell out when you started advocating for what was essentially a 'common sense practical approach' because it suggested that simplification would yield better answers than abstraction, but that only makes sense if you're prepared to elide the dissenting voices [I]ex nihilo, [/I]and declare a kind of victory of authority. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Thinking About the Purpose of Mechanics from a Neo-Trad Perspective
Top