thread: 2005-03-11 : Love, Friendship, Romance, Sex
On 2005-03-11, xenopulse wrote:
BADLY underdeveloped.
IMO, that's one reason that freeform chat-based gaming is:
a) higher in popularity with women than regular RPGs; and
b) often very much focused on relationships.
That's not to say that men aren't interested in playing relationship stories; otherwise, there wouldn't be many of those going on in freeform environments, and there are. But the typical hack&slash gaming (just like FPS shooters on the computer, for example) don't seem as popular with most women. (I hope I'm not causing some mistaken gender-equality backlash... I'm a true egalitarian, my wife and I both took a new last name together when we got married.)
My wife Lisa is a good example. She loves to RP romantic stuff, not the kind where things work out usually, but more the tortured, dramatic, star-crossed-lovers-are-kept-apart sort of story. Now that's by far not all she plays, but it's definitely something she gets no mechanical support for in any RPG I know (that's one reason she's a dedicated freeform player, aside from not wanting to be constrained in her creativity and input).
If any of you can find a way to make a game that mechanically not only enables but encourages and intensifies dramatic relationship stories, it'll have the potential for a major impact on the gaming world.
- Christian
