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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AlexofBarbaria" data-source="post: 9813168" data-attributes="member: 7035226">My favorite part of GNS theory is the separation of creative agenda from the particular techniques that we've come up with so far to support it. Most posts here are about techniques, not simulationism itself as a reason to play.Ron Edwards' <a href="http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/15/" target="_blank">Simulationism: The Right to Dream</a> defines Simulationism as play where the group's highest priority is sincere exploration of the shared imaginary world for its own sake.I think the essay is insightful and mostly even-handed, until the end -- the part I really disagree with (and seems to come out of nowhere) is when he says: "It's a hard realization: devoted Simulationist play is a fringe interest." Huh?It depends how much work "devoted" is doing here I guess, but I think Simulationism is hardly fringe! I think it's actually the most mainstream mode of RPG enjoyment.Couple observations to support that:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">TTRPGs from 1974 to 2000-ish steadily became more simulationist (until they collapsed under their own weight and spent years being dissed by influential game theorists). Edwards doesn't explain why they evolved in this direction for so long.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Computer games have become steadily more simulationist, at least until 2020ish. Enhancing graphical and physical fidelity is a simulationist technique! At the same time, games became simpler, shallower, and easier to play*. The market clearly prioritizes the "VR" experience over gamist qualities like difficulty and tactical depth, at least up to the point of a 2020ish+ AAA game (VR headset gaming hasn't been hugely successful).</li> </ul>* It's crucial to understand that Simulationism and ease-of-play are totally orthogonal. It's not inherently clunky, crunchy or slow to prioritize exploration of the imaginary space. Simulationists don't necessarily enjoy crunching the numbers or following complicated procedures themselves. "Easy" sim games (like, you know, The Sims) are massive!Putting it together, I think the best explanation is that people love Simulationism, it's just hard to do with traditional TTRPG tech.VTT-first TTRPGs are potentially a very interesting tech upgrade to support Simulationist play.</blockquote>

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