Theory: Of M.I.C.E. and Men - a better GNS?

[The.Droog.Of.Elenar]

This is a marked difference between the Breakdown and GNS theory. The Breakdown doesn't really have a direct analog to the Simulationist. The data seems to say that the accuracy of simulation isn't a direct concern.

Well if the real world market research of real world gamers didn't produce an analog to "simulationest", perhaps there is no such thing.. Perhaps GNS is just a hackneyed approach thought up from a basis of game design and not from a basis of game play. I chose this approach to start with (and this is a start, just a dialog to see if anything comes of it) because it encompasses the aspects of a story. The foundation of role plying games is the desire to act out a story. Weather it’s the story of the battle of Bull Run, The story of How I Became the Most Powerful (Ha-Ha HA-HAAA) Barbarian ever, How I tweaked the rules and dominated the world ect ect ect. Seems to be what drives most players in one fashion or another.

Here I see an even bigger mismatch. The Breakdown's "Power Gamer" is interested in interaction with rule sets. Card's "Event" focus is on how the world comes to be in a state of flux. Specifically, the Power Gamer isn't so much interested in the event itself, he's more interested in a tactical situation, how to best resolve it, and maximizing his or her performance in that situation.

Agreed, this is just what I wanted to talk about.

I think the power gamer is interested in the "event" element of the game, that's his true joy. The concerning of the current event is why he plays. He doesn’t care about the Game setting or even his character, he cares about overcoming or at least facing the event.

I don't think these correspond very well. Milieu might fit well enough with the GNS "Simulationist", but the Storyteller is far more concerned with dramatic flow and the narrative than with the details of the weather.

The storyteller it would seem is most interested in the world as a whole, which is why I placed his area of interest in the with Milieu.


I just realized I've been thinking of these in dynamic terns when they are presented in static.

If I was unclear, I’m intending M.I.C.E. in a dynamic sense here, not in a static one as it was originally conceived.

Let me also be clear that I have no pet theory on how role playing games work, I just want to explore this one.