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

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 4328923" data-attributes="member: 15538">I was not redefining them, I was simply defining them, so others would have the benefit of knowing how I am using the terms. I have a lot of background in literature, so my use of the terms was mainly literary. I also added some notes about those qualities that are specific to RPGs. I have to do that, because for the most part, there is not an existing body of work that talks extensively about genre, style, tone and theme in RPGs.It is decided. Whether my evaluation is correct or not is debatable. But I am not proceeding from some prior agenda. No. Life is, as they say, "red in tooth and claw." It is rules that allow social groups to function effectively.That isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the rules, not the text of any particular edition. People playing a game ARE game designers, because they interpret, use, and modify the published game as they see fit.That is precisely what happens. Someone must decide. The rules specify who is able to say what happens at any given point. That's not playing God. The dictatorial, one-sided depiction you give is bad play. We all know that players can just walk away from the table if the game is poorly managed.This essay is about good management, with "good" being defined slightly differently for each group.So it is necessary to define who has this control, otherwise you DO end up with Let's Pretend.Many people, upon discovering that their campaign has dried up after three weeks with no explanation, have discovered otherwise.So you're saying it's better to try to read everyone's minds and let them try to read yours? In any case, understanding people is no cause for rudely pointing out things they don't want pointed out. I used an example specifically of how material entered the game people did NOT want to talk about, and being aware of that is helpful.</blockquote>

Verification