What is "The Forge?"

[LostSoul]

I admit I'm not 100% sure what some of the examples mean

Might as well quote the text:

Every moment of play, roll dice or say yes.

If nothing’s at stake, say yes to the players, whatever they’re doing. Just plain go along with them. If they ask for information, give it to them. If they have their characters go somewhere, they’re there. If they want it, it’s theirs.

Sooner or later — sooner, because your town’s pregnant with crisis — they’ll have their characters do something that someone else won’t like. Bang! Something’s at stake. Launch the conflict and roll the dice.

Roll dice or say yes. Roll dice or say yes. Roll dice or say yes.

If that's not clear: you don't get bogged down in things that are unimportant because, if they are just unimportant, you "say yes". If you don't want to "say yes", they are important, and you roll the dice.

An example would be something like this:

The Dogs are searching for a clue to find out who the possessed killer is. They search under the bed, under the dresser, in the dresser, etc. But they don't search under the rug. They don't find the clue, and everyone spent 30 minutes getting nowhere.

Boring.

Instead, when the Dogs start searching, you either "say yes" ("Okay, you search for 30 minutes and under the rug you find a bloodied MacGuffin") or you roll dice.

 

[jdrakeh]

I'd more say that the problem is when the jargon doesn't actually equate to a defensible idea. In the context of the Forge, you get these baroque semantic games thet go like this:

That would be my second problem with much of the Jargon over at the Forge, and what I was trying to convey earlier when talking about "smoke and mirrors" - a lot of the jargon seems to lack objective (or meaningful) definition and is often utilized differently by different posters in defense of whatever position they happen to be taking at a given time. That is, a lot of Forge terminology seems to be the equivalent of the old AD&D 'anything device' - a snippet of tenuously defined terminology that can be applied to mean whatever the individual utilizing it wants it to mean.

It took me almost two years of observing terms like 'narrativism' and the like being bandied about the Forge, before I realized that they weren't being applied with anything resembling consistency - rather, individual posters applied them differently, specifically redefining them for optimum effect where whatever point they were trying to make was concerned. When I'd ask about this I would get the notorious 'You don't understand' instead of an explanation (much as you outlined with the example in your quoted post). Obviously, this raised a huge red flag.

 

[The Shaman]

...I do think some folks have a tendency to try and put a dress on the pig and call it a prom date.

We went as just friends, okay? :\

An example would be something like this:

The Dogs are searching for a clue to find out who the possessed killer is. They search under the bed, under the dresser, in the dresser, etc. But they don't search under the rug. They don't find the clue, and everyone spent 30 minutes getting nowhere.

Boring.

Instead, when the Dogs start searching, you either "say yes" ("Okay, you search for 30 minutes and under the rug you find a bloodied MacGuffin") or you roll dice.

Okay.

Am I missing something here, or is this pretty much the way most roleplaying games work? Or is that the point? Sorry to be so thick about this, but I'm sure I'm missing the revolutionary bit here.

You are such a gamist!

If liking Sidewinder: Recoiled means I'm a gamist, then dammit I'm a gamist and proud of it!

 

[Kanegrundar]

If liking Sidewinder: Recoiled means I'm a gamist, then dammit I'm a gamist and proud of it!

Same here. I loves me some SW: R!!!

 

[LostSoul]

Am I missing something here, or is this pretty much the way most roleplaying games work? Or is that the point? Sorry to be so thick about this, but I'm sure I'm missing the revolutionary bit here.

Naw, there's nothing revolutionary about it, it's just a nice little addition in there that helps run the game along. GM advice dressed up as a rule.

 

[SWBaxter]

It's worth noting that the Forge's forums were not solely, or even mostly, dedicated to academic discussions of the big model or GNS or whatever else. There's always been lots of resources for people to get started publishing their own stuff, to iron out problems in their games, etc. Focusing on the theory flamewars and saying that's all there is to the Forge would be like focusing on some of the rules lawyerish threads in the Rules forum and claiming that's all there is to EN World.

 

[Teflon Billy]

You aRE such a gamist!

Edited for a total lack of proofreading.

By all accounts, I am a Simulationist if I am anything.

but honestly, it depends who you ask over there

 

[Kanegrundar]

By all accounts, I am a Simulationist if I am anything.

but honestly, it depends who you ask over there

Very true. It was just my poor attempt at "Forgish" humor. In all honesty, I don't think I could really tell you the difference in any of the three theses days. It's been a while since I read the GNS theory.

 

[LostSoul]

I don't think I could really tell you the difference in any of the three theses days.

It's not really complicated....

Gamists want to Prove Themselves.
Simulationists want to Be There.
Narrativists want to Say Something (in a lit 101 sense).

http://www.lumpley.com/hardcore.html#3

 

[jdrakeh]

It's not really complicated....

Gamists want to Prove Themselves.
Simulationists want to Be There.
Narrativists want to Say Something (in a lit 101 sense).

http://www.lumpley.com/hardcore.html#3

According to Lumpley - but other Forge posters have used and do use different definitions where those terms (especially 'narrativism' and/or 'Narrativist') are concerned. Again, eyebeams (MS) really hit the nail on the head earlier in this thread.