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Judgement calls vs "railroading"
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<blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7093434" data-attributes="member: 16586"><p>[MENTION=48965]Imaro[/MENTION]</p><p></p><p>A well designed set of moves can serve to enhance the fantasy, to more meaningfully bring us into our characters' mind space. It can help bring the character's mental state, social obligations, emotional state, and inner life to the surface and help us make decisions as our characters would. The Team mechanics in Masks helps us feel like an actual team that supports each other. The strings mechanics in Monsterhearts help us to feel the weight of emotional dominance and hold other people have over us. Going Aggro models the commitment to doing violence that comes along with our characters' threats. Reading A Charged Situation helps model the thought process of someone in very real danger. The escalation mechanics in Dogs in the Vineyard models our tendency to double down or give in during tense situations. It's all about using the rules to align character and player interests, bring the tension of the moment to life, and help us view things from their perspective. The moves also have options to be used from one player character to another.</p><p></p><p>Let's talk about the way player moves function in play. You don't get to declare you are using a move. You need to establish fictional positioning in order to utilize a given move and you can always make moves that aren't like moves. When you declare something that your character does where no move applies we simply follow the fiction and the GM makes their moves that fit. You also do not get to not make the move when the fiction applies. </p><p></p><p>There is also the matter of there being less mechanics getting in the way. There is no action economy. Character growth is mostly outwards, rather than upwards. It uses abstracted rather than concrete ranges which in my experience match much more closely with the ways we interact with the world around us. Because we are engaging with the current situation and not concerned with the way things are supposed to go or happen or solving the adventure we are free to engage more fully with the fiction. We also only go to the dice for the sort of situations that should be tense for the character.</p><p></p><p>There are also matters of technique and principles to consider. Our questions help breathe life into these characters and ensure they have active inner lives. We address the characters not the players. We use countdown clocks to help players feel mounting pressure. We put players on the spot to make decisions for their characters. We convey the fictional world honestly so players can depend on their fictional reasoning and become invested in the fiction. We do not have easy release valves to escape the tension of the moment because the GM is playing to find out as well. We use NPCs with simple human desires and complicated relationships. </p><p></p><p>Most importantly we approach play as curious explorers of the fiction, advocating for our characters as best as we are able. Our characters are deeply connected to the setting, not outsiders. We are following them around as they live their messy, complicated lives and choose how to handle things. Because the action is focused on a particular location we really get to know it and the characters that live within it intimately.</p><p></p><p>Finally a preference for a less curated experience is not a preference for no curation. The tendency to rely on false binaries does not help get to meaningful analysis and criticism. I took [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] to task for this several times over the course of this thread. Please try to meet me halfway here.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Campbell, post: 7093434, member: 16586"] [MENTION=48965]Imaro[/MENTION] A well designed set of moves can serve to enhance the fantasy, to more meaningfully bring us into our characters' mind space. It can help bring the character's mental state, social obligations, emotional state, and inner life to the surface and help us make decisions as our characters would. The Team mechanics in Masks helps us feel like an actual team that supports each other. The strings mechanics in Monsterhearts help us to feel the weight of emotional dominance and hold other people have over us. Going Aggro models the commitment to doing violence that comes along with our characters' threats. Reading A Charged Situation helps model the thought process of someone in very real danger. The escalation mechanics in Dogs in the Vineyard models our tendency to double down or give in during tense situations. It's all about using the rules to align character and player interests, bring the tension of the moment to life, and help us view things from their perspective. The moves also have options to be used from one player character to another. Let's talk about the way player moves function in play. You don't get to declare you are using a move. You need to establish fictional positioning in order to utilize a given move and you can always make moves that aren't like moves. When you declare something that your character does where no move applies we simply follow the fiction and the GM makes their moves that fit. You also do not get to not make the move when the fiction applies. There is also the matter of there being less mechanics getting in the way. There is no action economy. Character growth is mostly outwards, rather than upwards. It uses abstracted rather than concrete ranges which in my experience match much more closely with the ways we interact with the world around us. Because we are engaging with the current situation and not concerned with the way things are supposed to go or happen or solving the adventure we are free to engage more fully with the fiction. We also only go to the dice for the sort of situations that should be tense for the character. There are also matters of technique and principles to consider. Our questions help breathe life into these characters and ensure they have active inner lives. We address the characters not the players. We use countdown clocks to help players feel mounting pressure. We put players on the spot to make decisions for their characters. We convey the fictional world honestly so players can depend on their fictional reasoning and become invested in the fiction. We do not have easy release valves to escape the tension of the moment because the GM is playing to find out as well. We use NPCs with simple human desires and complicated relationships. Most importantly we approach play as curious explorers of the fiction, advocating for our characters as best as we are able. Our characters are deeply connected to the setting, not outsiders. We are following them around as they live their messy, complicated lives and choose how to handle things. Because the action is focused on a particular location we really get to know it and the characters that live within it intimately. Finally a preference for a less curated experience is not a preference for no curation. The tendency to rely on false binaries does not help get to meaningful analysis and criticism. I took [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] to task for this several times over the course of this thread. Please try to meet me halfway here. [/QUOTE]
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