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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 5791071" data-attributes="member: 177">What is "insight"?  A grasping of inner workings, right?  How do we know that what is delivered is actual insight, and not just a load of hooey?  How do we know we better grasp our players through GNS than by other means?He gives us a model - called it that himself.  The test of any model is how closely it's results and forms mirror reality.  If his model does not give results similar to reality, its ability to give us insight into how people actually work in this activity is questionable, at best.Now, if you noted that the WotC market research was not specifically geared to test the accuracy of this model, and as such that research does not strictly disprove the model's accuracy, you'd be correct.  That would be a valid critique.However, the WotC research didn't set out to prove any particular model, but just to gather information and see what could be seen.  If GNS were accurate, you'd still expect a segmentation study in the same general area to give you a three-dimensional result, rather than a 2-D arrangement. You're not assured of that, as it depends on the nature of the questions and the analysis, but I still find the contrast notable. YMMV.As noted before, tell that to Freud.  For decades the world thought he brought us insight into the workings of the human mind - it was considered perhaps the best interpretive theory ever.  Turns out, though, that his model was inaccurate.  Wildly so.  Many people were treated on the basis of his model - my psych-professional friends have told me that when you go back and look at the case studies, and aggregate them into statistics, said treatment was about as effective as a placebo treatment.The analog would be to use GNS theory to design your games, or consider your player's choices - the question is whether doing so gets you better results than using any other method of consideration.  Do you get system, campaign, and adventure designs based on GNS than you'd do just going with your gut, or with the 5-room dungeon?</blockquote>

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