Recent content by Fenris-77

Thanks! RPG theory is a part of our hobby I get a lot of enjoyment out of. Since I also design and sell RPG stuff I get to actually try to walk the walk occasionally too.

I don't see any reason why authorial control mechanics couldn't be a kind of mechanic to discuss. I don't think they define narrativist play though, although they are often associated with it. It's also the case that some games don't reapportion authorial control via mechanics but rather by use...

I think you'd need to expand this train of thought a little if you want it carry any water. I suspect that you'll run into trouble when it comes time to try the experiment with 'traditional'. RPG mechanics do all kinds of things, not all of which directly influence the conversation as such -...

Oh, yeah, if you mean specific mechanics then sure, there's lots of room for incompatible. This seems to mostly be about how certain elements of the setting are generated. I'd agree that games often called narrative are probably the most likely to have some portion of authorial control for the...

There's a whole post there now. :D

Well, I don't think that narrative mechanics primarily steer the narrative of game so much as they create play outputs of a certain type. Frankly, I think it's a pretty useless term at this point as it has so much baggage, very little of which matches. What actually steers the narrative of the...

I'd really question the use of unbridgeable here. I can think of lots of games that mix the two together in very successful ways. I'm talking about design and function here, not what people like or don't like (which is quite a different conversation, and one that isn't relevant here). I think...

Thanks heavens I wasn't trying to frame a definition of games you like then, as I would have failed quite thoroughly.

Good heavens no, they certainly do not. As for 'objective', I think that's more a word to apply in individual cases where it might be warranted and lightly applied at that. All the parts of an RPG need to be viewed as parts of a purposeful whole - their meaning and importance rest on the other...

And to go a layer deeper there are all kinds of interconnections between and beneath that typology. Designers don't always colour inside the lines but use the tools at hand to build the game they want. Most of these descriptors (PbtA, OSR, BItD, Forge, etc) run into this exact problem.

Well, my point was that what they have in common is the conversation, shared diegetic space, and to add an item, avatars through which the players frame their end of the conversation and their imagination of exploring the setting. That's all fall more fundamental to RPG play than what we are...

That really isn't enough to imply anything beyond a vague similarity, which isn't enough for our purposes. They are also both very neatly subsumed into the category of board game. As both Wuthering Heights and, say, Human Occupied Landfill are by the term roleplaying game. This example isn't...

Narrative and 'traditional' play aren't nearly so far apart as this - they are still approaches to RPG play, not entirely different games. The real issue is that RPGs aren't game like chess that admit of nice clear definitional work. Not that I like those appellations, but I'm still quite happy...

I don't think it takes anything like that long. The real measure of 'work' is probably the GM - how experienced they are with RPGs generally, and to what extent they reflect on their own efforts and regularly make attempts to improve. A GM with experience in many different systems, and who is...

Argh. I want nothing to do with this verbiage. Service industry? Get back. It's about matching expectations and playstyles, not kowtowing to player needs. GMs are in hot demand, they don't need to serve anyone.