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Worlds of Design: The Tyranny and Freedom of Player Agency
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<blockquote data-quote="aramis erak" data-source="post: 7790163" data-attributes="member: 6779310"><p>At the level Mr. Pulsifer is talking, and that I' pointing out he's ignoring, the difference between agency and choice of action is moot. </p><p>The range of meaningful actions must be reduced to a level where the GM can handle it; the ability of players to affect the story to a range of meaningful outcomes also is reduced, but the value of that is, in fact more playability, in that the GM has less to think of and has scaffolding upon which to hang, the actions of the players and judge their impact.</p><p></p><p>Agency and player choice, at that level, are still a unified function. The feel of agency is enhanced by prior expectation of probable success, and then that success having tangible in-fiction consequences.</p><p></p><p>When one gets down to the play level, the reduced agency implied by acceptance that the nature of who can define what and who can refute what becomes separated by the question, "Does this roll really matter to the fiction?" - and, largely, they do. The restriction on action set is also a restriction on agency, but it'a also a restriction on player ability to go afield.</p><p></p><p>If Player A has total agency, no one else has any. If all players have equal agency, none have total agency. While I hesitate to describe group total agency as a zero-sum-game situation, in many ways it is. </p><p></p><p>If A isn't allowed to make meaningful changes to B, then A's agency is limited. If A is required to use mechanics to affect meaningful changes to B, that's still restricting A's agency... but it does so in a manner that makes it potentially more practical.</p><p></p><p>Let's look at a non-agency rule by comparison... In Star Trek Adventures, all stress damage is recovered at end of scene. Unless and until a wound is inflicted, the character hit has no lasting change. Stress damage is a non-agency tool for affecting a sum of actions that creates a lasting impairment (at least until getting to sickbay or a doc with a surgical kit)... that impairment is proof of agency, in every way that stress isn't. The decision to shoot in that system also includes options to spend metacurrency to take the shot that hits and push the damage up to wounding... (adding 5 momentum almost always guarantees a wound, and thus imposing a wound-type disadvantage, which has lasting story and mechanical impact.) the rules restricting the "I shoot and kill" level of agency result in a less certain outcome, invoking the game aspect, and making the choices fewer, but thus easier to identify which choices are meaningful, and which are more/less likely to succeed.</p><p></p><p>Perceived agency versus actual story agency - yes, they are different. But they're so conflated that restricting one axiomatically restricts the other, but also increases the ease of use.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="aramis erak, post: 7790163, member: 6779310"] At the level Mr. Pulsifer is talking, and that I' pointing out he's ignoring, the difference between agency and choice of action is moot. The range of meaningful actions must be reduced to a level where the GM can handle it; the ability of players to affect the story to a range of meaningful outcomes also is reduced, but the value of that is, in fact more playability, in that the GM has less to think of and has scaffolding upon which to hang, the actions of the players and judge their impact. Agency and player choice, at that level, are still a unified function. The feel of agency is enhanced by prior expectation of probable success, and then that success having tangible in-fiction consequences. When one gets down to the play level, the reduced agency implied by acceptance that the nature of who can define what and who can refute what becomes separated by the question, "Does this roll really matter to the fiction?" - and, largely, they do. The restriction on action set is also a restriction on agency, but it'a also a restriction on player ability to go afield. If Player A has total agency, no one else has any. If all players have equal agency, none have total agency. While I hesitate to describe group total agency as a zero-sum-game situation, in many ways it is. If A isn't allowed to make meaningful changes to B, then A's agency is limited. If A is required to use mechanics to affect meaningful changes to B, that's still restricting A's agency... but it does so in a manner that makes it potentially more practical. Let's look at a non-agency rule by comparison... In Star Trek Adventures, all stress damage is recovered at end of scene. Unless and until a wound is inflicted, the character hit has no lasting change. Stress damage is a non-agency tool for affecting a sum of actions that creates a lasting impairment (at least until getting to sickbay or a doc with a surgical kit)... that impairment is proof of agency, in every way that stress isn't. The decision to shoot in that system also includes options to spend metacurrency to take the shot that hits and push the damage up to wounding... (adding 5 momentum almost always guarantees a wound, and thus imposing a wound-type disadvantage, which has lasting story and mechanical impact.) the rules restricting the "I shoot and kill" level of agency result in a less certain outcome, invoking the game aspect, and making the choices fewer, but thus easier to identify which choices are meaningful, and which are more/less likely to succeed. Perceived agency versus actual story agency - yes, they are different. But they're so conflated that restricting one axiomatically restricts the other, but also increases the ease of use. [/QUOTE]
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