Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Starfox" data-source="post: 6147587" data-attributes="member: 2303">Define "narrative space" - well it is very hard to give a definition that is both precise and which we can all agree on. I was hoping the above quotes would point the direction sufficiently.I can try to begin a description - not a definition of narrative space. But I will need help for this.Narrative space is a characters ability to affect the direction of the story, to introduce and interact meaningfully with plot elements, and to be an actor rather than a subject. What this means in practice varies enormously depending on context. In a tactical combat game, it is a lot about mechanical efficiency. In a more full role-playing game, it is closely related to camera time - how much attention you can get from the GM and other players.Let me give an example from anime. It is very common in anime to have a "normal girl" as one of the main characters. All the other characters are fantastic aliens, magical princesses, star knights or whatever. But one (usually young and female) is not - she has no powers at all. Yet, this is somehow the most central character of all because of her relationship to the others, and because of her skills in areas such as cooking - because her skills are actually shown in camera, and the other characters are a lot worse at them. In a fight she is a mix between victim and comic relief, often with inspirational abilities. This character is the equal of the others despite being of a much lower "power level", because the camera gives her equal time and the other characters try and fail in her area of competence more than she tries and fails in theirs.</blockquote>

Verification