The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread
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Definition of JARGON
the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group; obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words; confused unintelligible language… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com
I actually like GNS theory, and I see a lot of posts on this board where applying it as a model would be really useful. Of course, I can never actually post that, as even a passive mention of it has the power to summon a Lovecraftian level of threadcrapping.
ENWorld is not a safe space for GNS theory.
ENWorld is not a safe space for GNS theory.
Hussar
Legend
I can see that. GNS theory and invoking Tolkien are both pretty much direct lines to Godwinning the thread.
At least I've still got my Monty Python references....I can see that. GNS theory and invoking Tolkien are both pretty much direct lines to Godwinning the thread.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing (He/They)
Getting real tired of "gun culture" in my country.
I disagree with that. For various reasons, it has been my experience that enworld is a difficult place to discuss theory, in any way, unless you want to deal with groups of people that discuss GNS and the Forge exclusively whenever theory comes up.
Which is counterproductive for me, as:
1. While it was a useful tool for designing specific games (specifically, the "N" part), it really is unhelpful when discussing a lot of mainstream games, and especially 5e. Which means that you end up having weird conversations where people are trying to discuss 5e, and instead end up in long .... conversations ... about GNS punctuated by play examples from games many people have never heard of or played.
2. This was an interesting concept ... 20 years ago. There's a lot of great work since then (I once posted a whole bunch of links so people could read up on the great theory work since then). For various reasons, I find that quoting essays from the same person from two decades ago does not, in fact, answer every question I have about the games I play. I mean ... if someone said that there was a dearth of feminist TTRPG theory here, I could get behind that. Or Queer Representation in TTRPGs and the related issues of societal positioning. Or even basic "best practices" for design and play with specified goals in mind (something that the CRPG world has done a lot of work on).
3. The conversations are so self-referential (with people often linking to their posts from two years ago) and so jargon-filled, that it isn't enjoyable to participate.
Despite that negative assessment, I genuinely think that people should be able to discuss what they want, and I think that this was part of the evolution of games. But I have had the exact opposite experience from you- almost every theory thread I have seen on enworld (and many I have started) just end up in the same conversations about GNS.
...which is why I no longer start in those threads, and rarely participate.
But if you're looking for a GNS thread, there is usually one or two longer GNS-adjacent threads going on at any given time. Or start your own; there are many people on enworld that enjoy talking about it.
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