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The importance to "story" of contrivance
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6961272" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>But probably not quite as unlikely as in fiction, I feel. Maybe I just know boring people, but I don't know anyone whose emotional lives resolved in quite the manner of the film I mentioned (in the same evening experiencing (i) the realisation of one's dream to be a screenwrite, (ii) a cathartic resolution of one's difficult relationship with a parent, and (iii) having a lover who broke up with you, who you still pine after, have her own reaslisation and track you down to reconcile with you.</p><p></p><p>For a different sort of romantic drama, one could equally consider the contrivances that generate the climax and resolution of Romeo and Juliet.</p><p></p><p>Or think about even a small scene in Casablanca: when Rick engineers things so that the young lovers win money on his gambling table. The opportumity for Rick to undergo this emotional transformation (from disengaged to engaged) occurs more-or-less simultaneously with the call upon him to decide the bigger questions of the film.</p><p></p><p>I guess that contrivance isn't just coincidence - it's <em>authorship</em> for deliberate aesthetic purposes.</p><p></p><p>This is a bit unclear to me.</p><p></p><p>You talk about <em>what the players want</em> and contrast it with <em>what the PCs do</em> - but then finish off referring to <em>what the players do</em>. It seems to me that if the GM is deciding whether the NPCs hustle or stop at an oasis, and if the players don't have access to this information and hence aren't making informed choices about whether or not they are "dawdling", that it is up to the GM whether the PCs arrive at the ritual site early, right on time, or too late.</p><p></p><p>I'm not sure, in the picture that you paint, where it is that the players are manipulating or taking advantage of things.</p><p></p><p>Can you elaborate, because I'm not sure I see the connection.</p><p></p><p>For instance, the GM decides that the moment the cultists' ritual culminates is the precise moement the PCs kick in the door. This is a contrivance of the sort I'm talking about. Or, in the example I gave, the PC at the same time has to decide how to confront his demon-possessed brother, and how to seek the help of a holy man who has arrived in town to officiate at the wedding of the PC's nemesis.</p><p></p><p>The GM setting things up like this is a springboard for player-driven actions. Whereas your post seems to assume, or imply, that it poses some sort of obstacle.</p><p></p><p>I'm not sure what the railroading is supposed to be, though. I take railroading to generally be about <em>resolutions</em>, not about the context for choice.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6961272, member: 42582"] But probably not quite as unlikely as in fiction, I feel. Maybe I just know boring people, but I don't know anyone whose emotional lives resolved in quite the manner of the film I mentioned (in the same evening experiencing (i) the realisation of one's dream to be a screenwrite, (ii) a cathartic resolution of one's difficult relationship with a parent, and (iii) having a lover who broke up with you, who you still pine after, have her own reaslisation and track you down to reconcile with you. For a different sort of romantic drama, one could equally consider the contrivances that generate the climax and resolution of Romeo and Juliet. Or think about even a small scene in Casablanca: when Rick engineers things so that the young lovers win money on his gambling table. The opportumity for Rick to undergo this emotional transformation (from disengaged to engaged) occurs more-or-less simultaneously with the call upon him to decide the bigger questions of the film. I guess that contrivance isn't just coincidence - it's [i]authorship[/i] for deliberate aesthetic purposes. This is a bit unclear to me. You talk about [i]what the players want[/i] and contrast it with [i]what the PCs do[/i] - but then finish off referring to [i]what the players do[/i]. It seems to me that if the GM is deciding whether the NPCs hustle or stop at an oasis, and if the players don't have access to this information and hence aren't making informed choices about whether or not they are "dawdling", that it is up to the GM whether the PCs arrive at the ritual site early, right on time, or too late. I'm not sure, in the picture that you paint, where it is that the players are manipulating or taking advantage of things. Can you elaborate, because I'm not sure I see the connection. For instance, the GM decides that the moment the cultists' ritual culminates is the precise moement the PCs kick in the door. This is a contrivance of the sort I'm talking about. Or, in the example I gave, the PC at the same time has to decide how to confront his demon-possessed brother, and how to seek the help of a holy man who has arrived in town to officiate at the wedding of the PC's nemesis. The GM setting things up like this is a springboard for player-driven actions. Whereas your post seems to assume, or imply, that it poses some sort of obstacle. I'm not sure what the railroading is supposed to be, though. I take railroading to generally be about [i]resolutions[/i], not about the context for choice. [/QUOTE]
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