Different Strokes

[Dragonbait]

i think if you are gonna do a d02 Different Strokes rpg i'd take a strong look at another system. i don't think you are gonna be able to build your paragon Gary Coleman or Todd Bridges characters.

Oh diaglo, what won't you say?

w00t! I got to say that again

 

[Shade]

i think if you are gonna do a d02 Different Strokes rpg i'd take a strong look at another system. i don't think you are gonna be able to build your paragon Gary Coleman or Todd Bridges characters.

Mr. Drummond was a lich long before it was cool.

 

[Dykstrav]

Games change over time because people change over time. I think it really is as simple as that. The 'generation gap' occurs where you have two groups of people that both think that they play D&D the One Right Way, they start playing together, and they start talking to each other. There's usually one of these, "Oh... You play like that?" reactions but it nevers seems to be that distruptive.

I'd say there is a slight trend toward the game being more visual, if for nothing else than the artwork is (usually) far better in general quality and quantity. Almost everyone uses minis and battlemats nowadays too. The advent of computers and applications like Photoshop have made it far easier to create compelling maps and visual aids. Like CGI in movies, none of this replaces good storytelling, but it's still fun and nice to have.

I do tend to use an "epic film format" for my games. I ask players to select a real-life actor that would portray their character if it ever went to the big screen, I describe scenes using camera directions and editing conventions, and I use general stylistic terms to describe settings and characters. I think that this has more to do with the fact that I work in the film industry and think in these terms than the game itself.

I think it's worth noting that d20 Modern explicitly states that it's "cinematic adventure." There's definitely an eye in its design toward the summer blockbuster movie and even anime.

 

[shurai]

I beg to differ. Look at how complicated new shows and videogames become. Used to be that TV shows followed a single character through a very linear plot. The same could be said of older games. Newer games/shows have convoluted plots, very difficult problem solving, and you have to follow simultanus plots at the same time. I remember reading an article somewere about this phenomenon, but I can't remember were. Maybe somebody else here does.

Could it have been this book? I heard about it on NPR and it sounds like what you describe:

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/05/14/everything_bad_is_go.html

It makes just about the same point you're making.

Another book gets into the way that boys' writing and influences on it by popular culture have been perhaps unfairly maligned over the years (yay NPR, I AR GET SOUND SMAHRT):

http://xrl.us/t2dj (Link to www.amazon.com)

Arrgh! Mark! may have been making a different point (he makes no mention of gender, which is a primary issue in the secondly linked book), but I think the material speaks to the same concern.

 

[iwatt]

Could it have been this book?

Yup. It was an article about the book. I'm hesitant to say anything else because I didn't read the book, just the article.

 

[Fishbone]

I'm 19 but I can tell you I didn't start with Lord of the Rings or Anime. That stuff bores me to tears. It was reading, and I mean a lot of reading, that got me into it and I'd have to say it is that way for the majority of the people in the hobby. The average RPG player by default reads more than the average person just from the games. Factor in inspirations for the game that were read because of game involvement, in game tie ins, etc, and I 'd have to say that even a casual gamer reads more than the average person. So I don't see where this "visual" thing is coming from.
The hobby is reading driven, and many of the classics are a lot older than the people reading them. Thats how it was, is, and will be for a long time.

 

[WhatGravitas]

I'm 19 but I can tell you I didn't start with Lord of the Rings or Anime.

Similar here... (I mean the age) started mainly with Lord of the Rings (the books, mind you), Earthsea, and Elric, and yeah, this was four years ago. In the meantime, I've of course been influenced by the LotR-movies, and anime-ish stuff, but my main fantasy inspiration/imagination still stems from the novels - why? Because they are better as an inspiration: You get more into characters while reading.

However, while reading, I'm already visualizing the events, trying to see them in a cinematic way (the reason, why I was pleased with the first LotR-movie, and annoyed by the third: the varying level of capturing my imagination).

Today, I think, the greatest resource for plots are the classic dramas. Get five acts into your adventures, get some decent tension curve, and mix-and-match with some snips from Baur's Builder series, and you're golden - for the storytelling.

The visuals are great for learning how things should be described. The more visual experiences of today don't help you with this, you still need to be able to describe stuff.
Nonetheless, anime/movies are still great, because they give you and your players some kind of reference... like: Want to describe the Ethereal Plane? Now descibe simply it as "blurry, foggy, and with muted colours..." - or use the same description - and finish with
"...similar to the effect, when Frodo was wearing the ring". Common visual impressions give you some reference to describe things - a good thing (TM).

Of course, depending on the movie-experience of your players and their obsession with anime, YMMV.

 

[Drawmack]

...The average RPG player by default reads more than the average person just from the games....even a casual gamer reads more than the average person....

Just how much does the average person read anyway? What is an average person? To be fair we would have to compare the average role-player with people who are similar but do not role-play. This would be an almost impossible comparison. Not that I think you are incorrect in your assumption that role-players read a lot but I think you may be being unfair to those that are not role-players.

Almost everyone I know who is into any hobby gets their information on that hobby by reading.

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

Thanks for the intelligent posting, guys.

A further point; most people seem to agree that things are becoming more cinematic in their game.

I know personally that for certain (read - epic, LOTR style games) I even use film terminology.

"We open with a slow, wide panning shot of the snow covered caladruns, the faint sunlight drifting slightly through the clouds of fog..."

At that point I press play on my carefully done soundtrack for some lonely music or what not.

Now, certain games emphasize cinematic gameplay more than others. (D20 modern, Spycraft, Feng Shui, even Eberron emphasizes cinematography over literary tropes with its so called Noir/indiana jones style.)

These games are pretty big. Gamers, regardless of inspiration will play them and be influenced by their style.

Do we think this is bad or good? What do you think the effects are? I don't know yet.

 

[Fifth Element]

Most kids are barraged by cheap, explosion-filled, story lacking (IMNSHO) animated junk these days. They also tend to not be exposed to a lot of fiction or intellectually challenging material in any medium. Since their tastes are based on what they see and experience, of course their tastes are going to tend toward the fast, flashy, explosion-filled, visually stimulating form of entertainment. This applies to games, movie preferences, and television preferences.

At least, that is how I see it.

Well, I'm 30 year old and don't consider myself a "kid". When I was a kid in the 80's, I was barraged by cheap, explosion-filled, story-lacking animated junk, as was everyone who grew up in that decade.

The average person in any generation is not exposed to a lot of fiction or intellectually-challenging material in any medium. Public school doesn't do it and never has, popular culture sure as hell doesn't do it. To find the good stuff, you need to seek it out; it's not going to be handed to you, no matter when you grew up. Most people here have sought it out (any some have elitist attitudes towards those who haven't).

Fifth Element