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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 6381718" data-attributes="member: 59082"><p>That's a good point and interesting perspective - that imagination is not only visual, but also affective and psychological. I completely agree. Actually, philosopher Owen Barfield speaks of imagination as a crucial component in moral compassion, because we can't truly have compassion for another without being able to imagine what they are experiencing.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps we should also look at the difference between creating something oneself--whether as a GM, a story writer, movie maker, musician etc--and participating as a player, reader, viewer, listener. I think it is safe, and non-controversial, to say that the former requires more creative and imaginative elements than the latter, as a general rule.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well it is like life. We are all given a genetic (or karmic) package, a family of origin, culture, natural talents, education, and so forth. The older we get, the more we have the opportunity for self-direction, self-creation - to interact with the world, others, and ourselves in a conscious way. Just as in life people do this to varying degrees, from being passive and unconscious to being truly autonomous, creative and awake people, so too do players run the gamut. In the end, we make of it what we put into it. </p><p></p><p>Actually, what you seem to see as a flaw in gaming I see as a positive quality: each player can choose how much of themselves they want to put into it. Some players just show up, drink beer, and roll dice. Some draw their own characters, write up back-stories, and take leadership roles in the game and world, making it their own. </p><p></p><p>In other words, even in a "classic D&D" game, there is immense possibility for creativity beyond simply showing up and choosing whether to swing a sword or not.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Again, it really depends upon the individuals involved - but my point is that the <em>potential </em>is there for...anything. That is the beauty of RPGs, unlike books even where you're just reading something that is already set-in-stone, or unlike a video game where no matter how many options there are, you're still dealing with finite choices and mechanistic algorithms. The human imagination is organic and without boundary.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 6381718, member: 59082"] That's a good point and interesting perspective - that imagination is not only visual, but also affective and psychological. I completely agree. Actually, philosopher Owen Barfield speaks of imagination as a crucial component in moral compassion, because we can't truly have compassion for another without being able to imagine what they are experiencing. Perhaps we should also look at the difference between creating something oneself--whether as a GM, a story writer, movie maker, musician etc--and participating as a player, reader, viewer, listener. I think it is safe, and non-controversial, to say that the former requires more creative and imaginative elements than the latter, as a general rule. Well it is like life. We are all given a genetic (or karmic) package, a family of origin, culture, natural talents, education, and so forth. The older we get, the more we have the opportunity for self-direction, self-creation - to interact with the world, others, and ourselves in a conscious way. Just as in life people do this to varying degrees, from being passive and unconscious to being truly autonomous, creative and awake people, so too do players run the gamut. In the end, we make of it what we put into it. Actually, what you seem to see as a flaw in gaming I see as a positive quality: each player can choose how much of themselves they want to put into it. Some players just show up, drink beer, and roll dice. Some draw their own characters, write up back-stories, and take leadership roles in the game and world, making it their own. In other words, even in a "classic D&D" game, there is immense possibility for creativity beyond simply showing up and choosing whether to swing a sword or not. Again, it really depends upon the individuals involved - but my point is that the [I]potential [/I]is there for...anything. That is the beauty of RPGs, unlike books even where you're just reading something that is already set-in-stone, or unlike a video game where no matter how many options there are, you're still dealing with finite choices and mechanistic algorithms. The human imagination is organic and without boundary. [/QUOTE]
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