Search results

Here we part ways, lol. DW is super fit to purpose, though I think AW and several others are actually better. The virtue of DW is the milieu is familiar to the participants, I just need to follow the process outlined in the book and it happens. The players already understand dungeons, monsters...

Agreed, living world as envisaged by @robertsconley certainly does not preclude play that is Narrativist in fashion. There tend to be confounding elements however. The milieu is generally conceived in a more impersonal way. Adjudication is often at odds with Narrativist goals. Resolution...

I entirely agree, except as to the referent of that first 'his'!

So, then, Doskvol is not inherently less real than, say, Majestic Wilderlands. I think that's my point, they're both primarily settings for RPG play.

The power dynamic was Dave's way of accomplishing that, but it is far from the only way, and wasn't what interested me. Random dungeon generators, perhaps coupled with a concensus mechanic,ight do as well. Obviously people have developed many workable approaches.

Exactly. This kind of milieu is just as 'alive' and presents just as deep an opportunity for discovery and dynamic situation as any top-down approach. I think top down design can sometimes be a good way to achieve certain goals in RPGs, but the most fruitful approach often mixes the two. Doskvol...

Well, consider that example, the characters wander into a village of basket weavers. This is a fictional construct of the GM's. While you can no doubt articulate reasons for said village to exist here, it is far from the only possibility. But adding to this is the sort of things that the process...

See, I don't think that. I am sure various forms of play can, and often do, produce interesting and dynamic situations. I'm strictly interested in how they arise and where they come from, and their thematic nature. Typical sandboxes focus on GM originated concerns, and -as @robertsconley points...

Right, this is quite incisive. It's the key element of the GM-centered and directed nature of living world play. The problem I have, why I go further and describe ALL plausibility as simply GM-directed, is that the assertions made as to the robustness of the much vaunted GM adjudication of what...

@pemerton has always been pretty clear about his definitions. It is equally necessary for others to read and comprehend. I don't think you're wrong about using terms, but requiring strict adherence to your formulations (and note @Campbell not agreeing that your definition of agency is normative)...

Well, there are entire threads here filled with posters railing against any invention of any new terms whatsoever. Many of those posts were made by posters who have posted in this very thread! But hey, it's also bad if I use existing words in a slightly new way. Basically it amounts to 'shut up'...

One day in 1975 some other kid brought a copy of D&D to a campout. I was astounded. Not by some process based on a DM doing whatever, or the allocation of roles to DM and players. The essence of it was, and remains, the combination of game and open-ended situation. D&D followed an established...

OK, sandbox: the GM authors an environment filled with locations. This environment generally allows for fairly free navigation, such that the PCs, acting as a group, have the option to interact with these locations when and if they wish. That's a part of it, but what is ALSO relevant, and gets...

No

Honestly, I have to fall back on what @hawkeyefan says. I've played a lot of what I would call 'trad' play nowadays, along with various other flavors. I'm not hostile to it, maybe a little bored with some of it. I'm not here to bash anything. I've played in 5e campaigns, several times, that I...

I probably need to clarify. I'm sure you play Hillfolk because it appeals to you. I guess what I mean is, you point out your play of that game like it immunizes your analysis of other forms of play from being criticized. Honestly, I'm sure playing it gave you some different perspectives, I'm not...

Right, I think Lew Pulsipher was reasonably correct in his analysis at the level of understanding of RPG play/design c1979 or so. I think it is, however, hazardous (and not suggesting you are doing this, you've adequately explicated yourself here already) to take too much from 40 year-old...

I think there's 2 things that go on here, and they're closely related: 1) You have a particular view of these issues, like what you mean by 'GM Lead', which don't describe play outside the trad context well at all. It isn't necessarily some sort of ideological battle when people describe things...

IME, which includes a decent amount of what I would call railroading, this is kinda exactly how it is. GMs often don't recognize what they're doing, but they're doing it. Mainly they're simply not conceiving of, or aware of, alternatives. There may be various reasons why specific instances of...

Yeah, I would consider it almost the epitome of bad GMing. What kind of an arse do you need to be to just blatantly spoil the players fun? For what? What was gained? I don't even comprehend what would be an excuse for that. Frankly, I've pretty much never walked from a game, but something like...