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RPG Buzzwords that have effectively lost their meaning due to poor over-use
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<blockquote data-quote="Gorgon Zee" data-source="post: 9704981" data-attributes="member: 75787"><p>Every word, jargon or not, is viewed differently to different people. "Jargon" in this context is a set of words we (this group) uses that are not immediately clear to outsiders. Are they helpful? yes, very much. They enable me to get a sense of what is being discussed immediately. Are they perfectly defined? Of course not -- but so what? So long as it helps me understand a discussion, it's good. Looking at the OP's list and a few others, pretty much all of them are useful:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>OSR </strong>- Very helpful. As soon as you tell me a game is OSR, I know that unless it hits a lot of good buttons for me, I can ignore it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Cinematic </strong>- Helpful. It's good to know that a game stresses spectacle over plot and character portrayal</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>-punk</strong> - Yeah, not so helpful. Although honestly, it might be better than what's happened to the term in the music genre.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Liminal </strong>- Helpful, but mostly because it means the books will have lovely art and not much playtesting.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Diagetic </strong>- I tend to agree that this is unecessary and doesn't help me understand a post.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>TTRPG </strong>- If you use the word "game" in this group, we expect it to be a roleplaying game. So if we need a term to contrast with other types of game, this is better than the more general RPG. I don't care that it sounds like online games are not included, because (a) everyone knows they are, and (b) boardgames don't all have boards.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Agency </strong>- Not jargon, but a helpful description, especially in comparison. In think we all have a base agreement on what it means, even when we argue the exact meaning to death.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Problematic </strong>- A super-helpful catchall which alerts me to the fact that I might not want to support the noun being described, without having to present a brief account of the reason which is virtually never sufficient. I much prefer the simple alert, which I can then follow up on if I care.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Narrative </strong>- Yeah, some people still insist on strict GNS definitions of narrative, but most people use it as a signifier that story is more important than rules or verisimilitude. Helpful.</li> </ul><p>The terms that have been stretched beyond usefulness are fairly few. I can only think of:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Railroad </strong>- People now use this for anything that reduces player agency, which is a little too broad to be helpful.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Modern </strong>- Sometimes in the last 3 years, others in the last couple of decades. Also used for style, but I cannot work out any common style between instances when I've seen it used</li> </ul><p>So for me, "<em>a modern paperpunk game that eliminates railroading</em>" doesn't help me at all. "<em>An OSR game from a problematic company that focuses on narrative player agency</em>" will definitely give me something to think about.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Gorgon Zee, post: 9704981, member: 75787"] Every word, jargon or not, is viewed differently to different people. "Jargon" in this context is a set of words we (this group) uses that are not immediately clear to outsiders. Are they helpful? yes, very much. They enable me to get a sense of what is being discussed immediately. Are they perfectly defined? Of course not -- but so what? So long as it helps me understand a discussion, it's good. Looking at the OP's list and a few others, pretty much all of them are useful: [LIST] [*][B]OSR [/B]- Very helpful. As soon as you tell me a game is OSR, I know that unless it hits a lot of good buttons for me, I can ignore it. [*][B]Cinematic [/B]- Helpful. It's good to know that a game stresses spectacle over plot and character portrayal [*][B]-punk[/B] - Yeah, not so helpful. Although honestly, it might be better than what's happened to the term in the music genre. [*][B]Liminal [/B]- Helpful, but mostly because it means the books will have lovely art and not much playtesting. [*][B]Diagetic [/B]- I tend to agree that this is unecessary and doesn't help me understand a post. [*][B]TTRPG [/B]- If you use the word "game" in this group, we expect it to be a roleplaying game. So if we need a term to contrast with other types of game, this is better than the more general RPG. I don't care that it sounds like online games are not included, because (a) everyone knows they are, and (b) boardgames don't all have boards. [*][B]Agency [/B]- Not jargon, but a helpful description, especially in comparison. In think we all have a base agreement on what it means, even when we argue the exact meaning to death. [*][B]Problematic [/B]- A super-helpful catchall which alerts me to the fact that I might not want to support the noun being described, without having to present a brief account of the reason which is virtually never sufficient. I much prefer the simple alert, which I can then follow up on if I care. [*][B]Narrative [/B]- Yeah, some people still insist on strict GNS definitions of narrative, but most people use it as a signifier that story is more important than rules or verisimilitude. Helpful. [/LIST] The terms that have been stretched beyond usefulness are fairly few. I can only think of: [LIST] [*][B]Railroad [/B]- People now use this for anything that reduces player agency, which is a little too broad to be helpful. [*][B]Modern [/B]- Sometimes in the last 3 years, others in the last couple of decades. Also used for style, but I cannot work out any common style between instances when I've seen it used [/LIST] So for me, "[I]a modern paperpunk game that eliminates railroading[/I]" doesn't help me at all. "[I]An OSR game from a problematic company that focuses on narrative player agency[/I]" will definitely give me something to think about. [/QUOTE]
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