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<blockquote data-quote="Bedrockgames" data-source="post: 8172193" data-attributes="member: 85555"><p>I think it is useful to distinguish between a narrative (as understood in history) and a story. And I think they are different, but both can occur in RPGs. A narrative in history describes real events that took place (and the historian is threading it into a linear account usually, which can distort even if it they are trying to be as accurate as possible). The events in an RPG can be likened to the events in history, and they can provide details for a narrative later. But history, as it is unfolding, isn't worried about whether it meets the criteria for a good narrative. The subjects of history are trying to survive it. They are trying to get what they want, but their lives are not unfolding toward dramatic purpose. If you read a lot of history you realize just how many people die suddenly, in ways that would be anticlimactic in a story for example. A story is different though. If you are collectively trying to tell a good story, your goals are totally different from someone who is playing the game to survive history. So I think when we say these are the same, it does a bit of a disservice to several styles of play that have no interest in story. Just like if we say, RPGs are incompatible with story, it does a disservice to styles of play that are interested in crafting a good story.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bedrockgames, post: 8172193, member: 85555"] I think it is useful to distinguish between a narrative (as understood in history) and a story. And I think they are different, but both can occur in RPGs. A narrative in history describes real events that took place (and the historian is threading it into a linear account usually, which can distort even if it they are trying to be as accurate as possible). The events in an RPG can be likened to the events in history, and they can provide details for a narrative later. But history, as it is unfolding, isn't worried about whether it meets the criteria for a good narrative. The subjects of history are trying to survive it. They are trying to get what they want, but their lives are not unfolding toward dramatic purpose. If you read a lot of history you realize just how many people die suddenly, in ways that would be anticlimactic in a story for example. A story is different though. If you are collectively trying to tell a good story, your goals are totally different from someone who is playing the game to survive history. So I think when we say these are the same, it does a bit of a disservice to several styles of play that have no interest in story. Just like if we say, RPGs are incompatible with story, it does a disservice to styles of play that are interested in crafting a good story. [/QUOTE]
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