thread: 2009-06-08 : Restating: Fictional Causes and Realization
On 2009-06-08, Vincent wrote:
Christian: That's close cousin to Callan's ongoing problem with these posts - and it's one of the problems in the first place that started the whole Forge fashion in game design. No doubt.
My problem isn't with sparse description, at all. It's with roleplaying where the events aren't concrete.
Like, we're playing a stakes-setting game from 2006 that was never actually published that I'm just making up. I say, "okay, what's at stake is, do you lose your temper and burn down the orphanage? I'm rolling my Provocative, you roll your Calm... I win! Bye bye orphanage!" And you say, "actually I'm going to bring in my 'cucumbery' trait, which is listed under Calm, for a reroll... Dang, you still win. You've provoked me into losing my temper, I burn down the orphanage."
...All with no reference to what my character does to provoke yours, or what. Things happen - orphanages burn - but it's just like Frank says. Sounds good in writeup, leaves a bad taste in play.
Lest anyone think I'm advocating a return to long purple soliloquies and nothing that happens. I'm not. Yikes, no, a world of not.
