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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steenan" data-source="post: 6811695" data-attributes="member: 23240">For me, metagaming is "taking actions motivated mainly by factors external to the fictional world". It is very wide spectrum; some of it positive (even necessary), some neutral and some detrimental to the game.A simple rule of not being a dick to other players requires metagame thinking - one needs to think about how their actions affect the fun of other participants and take it into account in their decisions. Most of the traits of a good player describe how they interact with metagame. Taking just a right amount of spotlight (being neither passive nor a prima donna), engaging other players through in-game actions, not bringing up topics that others are uncomfortable with, taking dramatic and interesting choices etc. In other words, there is a lot of "positive metagaming" that is essential to good gaming. There are also some things that are positive in some games, but not in others, like "accidentally" showing up where something interesting is happening (despite having no in-character information about it), divulging something one should keep secret and in general playing into genre-relevant tropes.And, of course, there are kinds of metagaming that diminish the fun. Using out of game knowledge to circumvent challenges or negate moral dilemmas leads to a boring game (especially if facing challenges or moral dilemmas is what the group finds most fun). Doing things that are obviously inconsistent with character's motivations, personality and knowledge destroys the suspension of disbelief (this does not mean that the metagame factors shouldn't be taken into account - just that it should be done in a way that makes sense in the fiction). Trying to do things that thematically don't fit the setting hurt the mood in the best case and become outright silly or disturbing in the worst case.In other words, trying to judge metagaming as a whole, loving or hating it, has no sense. There's a lot of things that are metagaming, some good and some bad. And the divide between good and bad depends on the game.</blockquote>

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