thread: 2012-06-25 : "Conflict" "Resolution"
On 2012-06-26, Amphiprison wrote:
Okay, time to make some assertions!
Cops and Robbers, the game that D&D once presented as an introduction to the concept of role-playing, is Conflict-Oriented. Cops are the good guys, Robbers are the bad guys, and the game is about reenacting that conflict.
House, the game that young boys stereotypically disdain as a 'girly game', is Consensus-Oriented. Someone is the mother (parents), someone is the baby (children), and the game is about reenacting day-to-day life together.
I hereby Assert that what you really mean by 'masculine' and 'feminine' are Conflict-Oriented and Consensus-Oriented. It only seems to be about sex and gender because (U.S.) society likes it when things are divvied up into binary roles- man:conflict::woman:consensus, Republican:conservative::Democrat:liberal, etc.
I also Assert that a Conflict-Oriented narrative is one where resolving conflict resolves the plot. Dusty lit-theory terms come to mind: as man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self.
A Consensus-Oriented narrative is one where gaining consensus resolves the plot. These narratives are a bit harder for folks to notice at first. I propose, as an example, a love story. The 'uncertain interests', as Vincent terms them, are usually represented as a choice of lovers, or the choice of whether or not to commit to a partner of questionable worth. The story is resolved when two people commit to each other, which usually takes a bit of work on both sides but not so much the gunfights or courtroom-style arguments present in Conflict-Oriented narratives.
You can drive trucks through the holes in my examples, but I stand by my assertions that we're talking about Conflict and Consensus.
I can't wait for y'all to tear these words apart and find new and better ones!
This makes R go "Lots of Consensus-Oriented games in the various Nordic larp or freeform traditions!"
