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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 4033714" data-attributes="member: 42582">These would be two different themes to be explored.In a good narrativist game, when the players set out to explore a theme, they do not fail to do so (ie fail to explore that theme) - just as, at a good poker night, one doesn't fail to play some poker.Now, if the theme to be explored is &quot;The cost of achieving Y&quot; then achievement of Y has to be a given. How the RPG actually guarantees the achievement of Y is a different matter, and might depend on what Y is. Maybe the setting has it built in (eg Dying Earth takes for granted that the cost of dealing with wackos will be explored, because towns populated by wackos are build into the setting). Maybe the players have Fate Points which give them force in respect of certain crucial ingame matters on which Y's realisation turns. Or whatever.I think that Lost Soul and Bastoche are right - that what you're describing here is the difference between narrativist play and narrativist play ie no difference at all.If the players all choose to develop a theme, and make that part of their play, they are playing narrativist. (Now maybe what you mean is that the players choose to explore someone else's development of a theme eg they choose to play the DL modules, and to enjoy immersion in the narrative that the novel and module authors have already created. That wouldn't be narrativist, it would be high-concept simulations - but also, it wouldn't involve any development of any theme, because the authors have already done all that.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 4033714, member: 42582"] These would be two different themes to be explored. In a good narrativist game, when the players set out to explore a theme, they do not fail to do so (ie fail to explore that theme) - just as, at a good poker night, one doesn't fail to play some poker. Now, if the theme to be explored is "The cost of achieving Y" then achievement of Y has to be a given. How the RPG actually guarantees the achievement of Y is a different matter, and might depend on what Y is. Maybe the setting has it built in (eg Dying Earth takes for granted that the cost of dealing with wackos will be explored, because towns populated by wackos are build into the setting). Maybe the players have Fate Points which give them force in respect of certain crucial ingame matters on which Y's realisation turns. Or whatever. I think that Lost Soul and Bastoche are right - that what you're describing here is the difference between narrativist play and narrativist play ie no difference at all. If the players all choose to develop a theme, and make that part of their play, they are playing narrativist. (Now maybe what you mean is that the players choose to explore someone else's development of a theme eg they choose to play the DL modules, and to enjoy immersion in the narrative that the novel and module authors have already created. That wouldn't be narrativist, it would be high-concept simulations - but also, it wouldn't involve any development of any theme, because the authors have already done all that.) [/QUOTE]

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