thread: 2005-07-27 : Roll the Bones
On 2005-07-27, John Harper wrote:
Wow. This is great stuff. I especially like how he analyzes the functional disconnect between "realistic" portrayal of a role and the more fluid socially-reinforced local instance of a role, which may not resemble anything based on reality. This is one of those things that we instinctively do very well, but many roleplayers unlearn it.His comments about how constant dialog and reciprocity keep the fantasy going sound to me a lot like Dogs' advice about lots of table-talk and kibbitzing. All of that reinforcement and in-the-moment judgment of the fantasy keeps it vital and dynamic. Like children playing "superheroes", which consists mostly of the kids running around declaring who they are and reinforcing the declarations of the other kids. Saying "I'm Spiderman" once is not enough. It's a near constant litany of "I'm this" and "I'm that" reinforced in the moment by the other players.
The parallel to roleplaying is the technique of Author stance. A constant state of critique and judgment about the game as a participant, not "just" an imaginary persona, communicated to the other players and reinforced by their own Author communication.
Cool site. Thanks for the link, V.
