Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 8930068" data-attributes="member: 907">Thank you for mentioning music, because I think that provides the perfect analogue I was looking for, with two different things that come together to create a third.A published RPG is like a musical instrument. You can certainly compare different instruments to one another, both across entirely different types (an accordion has a different sound from an electric guitar), and quality-wise within each type.A published (or at least prepared) adventure is sheet music. It's a set of instructions for how to use an instrument to create a certain experience. You can look at the sheet music and see how it works, and if you know how to read it properly you can imagine the music in your head, but the notes on the sheet are not the actual music.The game as played is actual music. There's often a basis in sheet music, but there's lots of room for improvisation around what's there, and different players will put their different spin on things. And play the same sheet music on different instruments, and it will sound quite different.Now, within each category you can certainly compare, review, and discuss the varying qualities of the work. But they should be discussed in different ways. Comparing Stairway to Heaven to Spirit in the Sky might have some relevance, but the vocabulary used would not be good for comparing a piano to a guitar.An RPG should generally be considered more on qualities of aesthetics (what kinds of things does it do well) and craftsmanship (how well does it actually do them), whereas actual play is more a matter of artistry, for lack of a better word. And the language of critique generally works better for the latter, I think.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Staffan, post: 8930068, member: 907"] Thank you for mentioning music, because I think that provides the perfect analogue I was looking for, with two different things that come together to create a third. A published RPG is like a musical instrument. You can certainly compare different instruments to one another, both across entirely different types (an accordion has a different sound from an electric guitar), and quality-wise within each type. A published (or at least prepared) adventure is sheet music. It's a set of instructions for how to use an instrument to create a certain experience. You can look at the sheet music and see how it works, and if you know how to read it properly you can imagine the music in your head, but the notes on the sheet are not the actual music. The game as played is actual music. There's often a basis in sheet music, but there's lots of room for improvisation around what's there, and different players will put their different spin on things. And play the same sheet music on different instruments, and it will sound quite different. Now, within each category you can certainly compare, review, and discuss the varying qualities of the work. But they should be discussed in different ways. Comparing [I]Stairway to Heaven[/I] to [I]Spirit in the Sky[/I] might have some relevance, but the vocabulary used would not be good for comparing a piano to a guitar. An RPG should generally be considered more on qualities of aesthetics (what kinds of things does it do well) and craftsmanship (how well does it actually do them), whereas actual play is more a matter of artistry, for lack of a better word. And the language of critique generally works better for the latter, I think. [/QUOTE]

Verification