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What is *worldbuilding* for?
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<blockquote data-quote="Ilbranteloth" data-source="post: 7379145" data-attributes="member: 6778044"><p>OK, I'm sitting here working on some things while my wife is watching NCIS LA. And the bit of the scene I just saw I think speaks to both what I think many are trying to accomplish with Story Now, and also highlights what I don't like about this approach.</p><p></p><p>I wasn't paying much attention to the show until I was taking a short break from what I was working on, so I don't know all of the details but:</p><p></p><p>Several of the agents followed an informant they were trying to get who they thought knew where to find somebody else. I don't know if this was a villain, informant, whatever, it doesn't matter for now, but we'll call him the quarry.</p><p></p><p>While they were there, several thugs came in and a gunfight started.</p><p></p><p>In the midst of the gunfight, while they were all shooting, missing, and taking cover (after killing one of the thugs), the quarry told the informant they were following that he would find him later, then left.</p><p></p><p>The second informant tried to chase him, but an agent pulled him back just before he got shot.</p><p></p><p>The quarry is seen getting in a car, the agents then one shot all of the thugs, and run outside as the quarry gets away.</p><p></p><p>--</p><p></p><p>The "GM" introduced conflict, complications, and dangers, to produce a scene that centered on the agent's dramatic needs at the time (find and catch the quarry).</p><p></p><p>They are unable to kill the thugs, until after the quarry makes their statement, and then is somehow able to just get out while everybody else is pinned down by gunfire. Once the quarry has escaped, they are able to kill the thugs, but only to watch the quarry escape. In this case, it appears they have escaped for the episode, to show up in a later episode.</p><p></p><p>So this is the sort of scene that dominated the couple of times I played a Story Now game. The next scene is back at the command center, centering on a sub-plot. The problem that I had with the scene in the show (not my favorite, it has it's moments though and I like some of the characters), and scenes like this is that it feels so contrived.</p><p></p><p>It's relatively obvious as they frame a scene what's going on - oh, this will be a gunfight scene. The meta aspect of a TV show makes this more obvious since we're either just before or just after the last commercial break. But the scene unfolds in a predictable manner - they can't catch the quarry at this point, so a "dramatic" gunfight ensues, the quarry makes an escape, and now that the drama of the scene has occurred, it's quickly wrapped up.</p><p></p><p>While I get that it's one way to tell a story, we prefer to let things unfold at a slower pace. We like things to focus more on the characters themselves, getting into their heads, and allowing them to experience the world as if it's a real world, and not a dramatic TV show. I'm sure that's something that can happen in a Story Now game, but the general approach seems to be more about the action and moving from scene to scene, whereas we like the exploration. Exploring the world, exploring the characters, exploring the plots and schemes that are happening within the world, etc. Our game is usually more like <em>Alien</em> than <em>Aliens</em>. Both great movies, and we have our share of sessions and even arcs like the second. But most of the time it's longer periods of things occurring between characters, and some exploration.</p><p></p><p>I'm not surprised that it often resembles B2 in general story form, since that's kind of what I started with and learned how to build a campaign. There are a lot of other influences since then, but the general thrust (as I look back on it) has usually been one of exploration. Allowing the story to unfold through the characters, and experiencing the story from the character's perspective. I love having new gamers at the table, because when they don't know anything yet, they can experience the game in much the same way their character experiences the world. </p><p></p><p>And from what little I've experienced about Narrative or Story Now games is that they try to eliminate the exploration and get right to the big dramatic scenes. The same approach is probably reflected in my musical tastes, which started with progressive bands like Yes, Genesis, along with Pink Floyd, particularly the pre-Dark Side era, and moved into more experimental and improvisational long form music, ambient, etc. (among many others). I like the dynamics, the slow builds, the meditative moments where little is happening, and that sort of thing.</p><p></p><p>So a game which removes those elements when I'm a player is what I see as infringing on my agency. The game is taking away the moments where we have often had the most fun. The GM is trying to skip to the next dramatic scene, when, if given time, we as players don't even really know what that next scene will be. That's why I categorically disagree that Story Now has more player agency. I disagree, I find it infringes on my agency as a player when I've played them. They took away my agency to do "not much at all" or "dig a little deeper" or "head off in a different direction" or "investigate something new," etc.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilbranteloth, post: 7379145, member: 6778044"] OK, I'm sitting here working on some things while my wife is watching NCIS LA. And the bit of the scene I just saw I think speaks to both what I think many are trying to accomplish with Story Now, and also highlights what I don't like about this approach. I wasn't paying much attention to the show until I was taking a short break from what I was working on, so I don't know all of the details but: Several of the agents followed an informant they were trying to get who they thought knew where to find somebody else. I don't know if this was a villain, informant, whatever, it doesn't matter for now, but we'll call him the quarry. While they were there, several thugs came in and a gunfight started. In the midst of the gunfight, while they were all shooting, missing, and taking cover (after killing one of the thugs), the quarry told the informant they were following that he would find him later, then left. The second informant tried to chase him, but an agent pulled him back just before he got shot. The quarry is seen getting in a car, the agents then one shot all of the thugs, and run outside as the quarry gets away. -- The "GM" introduced conflict, complications, and dangers, to produce a scene that centered on the agent's dramatic needs at the time (find and catch the quarry). They are unable to kill the thugs, until after the quarry makes their statement, and then is somehow able to just get out while everybody else is pinned down by gunfire. Once the quarry has escaped, they are able to kill the thugs, but only to watch the quarry escape. In this case, it appears they have escaped for the episode, to show up in a later episode. So this is the sort of scene that dominated the couple of times I played a Story Now game. The next scene is back at the command center, centering on a sub-plot. The problem that I had with the scene in the show (not my favorite, it has it's moments though and I like some of the characters), and scenes like this is that it feels so contrived. It's relatively obvious as they frame a scene what's going on - oh, this will be a gunfight scene. The meta aspect of a TV show makes this more obvious since we're either just before or just after the last commercial break. But the scene unfolds in a predictable manner - they can't catch the quarry at this point, so a "dramatic" gunfight ensues, the quarry makes an escape, and now that the drama of the scene has occurred, it's quickly wrapped up. While I get that it's one way to tell a story, we prefer to let things unfold at a slower pace. We like things to focus more on the characters themselves, getting into their heads, and allowing them to experience the world as if it's a real world, and not a dramatic TV show. I'm sure that's something that can happen in a Story Now game, but the general approach seems to be more about the action and moving from scene to scene, whereas we like the exploration. Exploring the world, exploring the characters, exploring the plots and schemes that are happening within the world, etc. Our game is usually more like [I]Alien[/I] than [I]Aliens[/I]. Both great movies, and we have our share of sessions and even arcs like the second. But most of the time it's longer periods of things occurring between characters, and some exploration. I'm not surprised that it often resembles B2 in general story form, since that's kind of what I started with and learned how to build a campaign. There are a lot of other influences since then, but the general thrust (as I look back on it) has usually been one of exploration. Allowing the story to unfold through the characters, and experiencing the story from the character's perspective. I love having new gamers at the table, because when they don't know anything yet, they can experience the game in much the same way their character experiences the world. And from what little I've experienced about Narrative or Story Now games is that they try to eliminate the exploration and get right to the big dramatic scenes. The same approach is probably reflected in my musical tastes, which started with progressive bands like Yes, Genesis, along with Pink Floyd, particularly the pre-Dark Side era, and moved into more experimental and improvisational long form music, ambient, etc. (among many others). I like the dynamics, the slow builds, the meditative moments where little is happening, and that sort of thing. So a game which removes those elements when I'm a player is what I see as infringing on my agency. The game is taking away the moments where we have often had the most fun. The GM is trying to skip to the next dramatic scene, when, if given time, we as players don't even really know what that next scene will be. That's why I categorically disagree that Story Now has more player agency. I disagree, I find it infringes on my agency as a player when I've played them. They took away my agency to do "not much at all" or "dig a little deeper" or "head off in a different direction" or "investigate something new," etc. [/QUOTE]
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