thread: 2009-04-27 : Dice & Cloud: a Symmetry
On 2009-04-28, Moreno R. wrote:
@Alex D. : no, it's not like this You are completely out of track. I will try to address each game you cite:
"3:16":
The players and the GM have to narrate "something" following the dice rolls. For example, the dice says that you killed 4 Aliens. Right. Fast, fast, tell me how you killer them! "Ehmm... I killed the first one with a bullet to the head, the second... oh, who cares? It's not like it make any bit of difference! I shot them!"
The GM could be an asshole and force him to narrate something more detailed, but he can't really say to him why he should... after all he's right, there is no difference at all. Next, they roll again. You kill 6 aliens. Fast, fast, tell me how you killed them...
In between the rolls to kill aliens, you can narrate a lot of fictional stuff. If you convince the GM, all this stuff can get you a +1. How much is a +1? Not very much. There is some difference in narrating that I dig a trench or I place a land mine or I make a inspiring speech or I clean my rifle? Not a bit. Who cares? Let's roll.
Think about Monopoly. Think about playing it like a rpg. Every time you have to pay rent, you narrate a little encounter with a npc that work at the desk, and other people you meet there. Would you enjoy it, or would you stop narrating these encounters after a while?
I think that the people who don't need an Arrow from the fictional stuff are the ones who could enjoy playing Monopoly like this indefinitely, because they would enjoy the narration even if has no effect on the rest of the game. Just for the fun of it.
I would go mad after a while.
Spione:
We narrate a story. We are interested in the story. The story usually grab me by the balls, and everything I say get used by the other people at the table. Everything matters, everything has "weight". There is no bonus, there is no hit points, skills, or numbers, there is only the story, or better yet MY GOD, LOOK AT WHAT IT'S HAPPENING NOW!
Dogs: exactly like Spione. The SIS is never dissolved into numbers. Never disappear into a bonus. You win conflicts by raising with "you drop the gun and run away screaming, abandoning her", not by rolling a 10.
And I don't think I have a "problem". There a lot of games for all kind of people. I already have more games that I will be ever able to play at length, thanks. I didn't want to derail this discussions from IAWA to my experiences with other games
