thread: 2005-06-02 : Immersion
On 2005-06-03, Brand Robins wrote:
Part of the reason for superheroes, even those not specifically superheroic but obviously beyond humanity (Neo, from the Matrix, Exalted characters, etc) has to do with the concept of distance: only someone with that amount of power can change the world ? we cannot, as we do not have that level of power. We disenfranshise ourselves, making us to little to effect change, and idolize the superman for his superior ability to change the world. We replace empathy with awe, and association with power-fantasy.
Sven: I have several women in my group who cry in game fairly often, and self-identify as character immersivists. They do, however, manage to get that kind of play even in games that have solid to heavy mechanics: Exalted, HeroQuest, and Dogs in the Vineyard. For them it is all a matter of knowing when to break to mechanics and when to just play things.
There have, in fact, been times using games that had conflict resolution where the tension of knowing a roll was coming up increased their emotional reaction to what their character was going through. I remember one where a character was talking with her lover about his family (who are members of a group that kills people of the character?s type) and about him leaving the family. Things were starting to tense up and I casually reached for the dice, trying not to distract from the play, and the player started crying hard. The scene went on, things came to a head, and then we rolled to see what happened with the girl and her lover. When I asked her, afterwards, why she started crying the player said "Because, while I?d kind of known it, when you reached for the dice I suddenly realized how bad this was, and how likely it was she was going to lose her lover."
