thread: 2005-08-30 : Coming-of-age Fantasy for Adults
On 2005-08-31, Vincent wrote:
Hey everybody, Ninja J's comment is extremely on target.
If you're worried and/or excited about my game's "manhood progression mechanics" or "moral maturity stat" or "rape resolution table," you should chill out. The way this kind of game design works is: you design rules that point to the issue, like the finger to the moon, not rules that describe the issue.
Ron posted a great, great post about that once, let's see if I can find it... Ah, here: [Musha Shugyo] Honor mechanics, followup here: Designing a relationship, not a rule?
My rules will provide dynamic starting situations, fit characters of your own design, strong adversity, and a compelling way to resolve one situation into the next. They'll also provide some support for you getting through with your friends, although probably not much more than Meg's "ouch" and "oops." And throughout, they'll convey an attitude of matter-of-factness about some hard problems - but, like, this isn't a game about rape. This is a game where rape is on the table. This is a game that in-game rape won't break.
If only one group out of a hundred takes me up on that, that's fine with me, I'll consider that a total success.
(And if any of you who chilled out at the top are now disappointed, you can chill out again, thanks.)
This makes MB go "Ouch/Oops"
"Ouch" = what you say when something has triggered you or offends you or you see as being hurtful, "Oops" = what you say when you realize you have said something that may trigger, offend, or hurt others. This opens space to process without increasing the damage by people reacting from their emotions rather than their brains. Works beautifully with teenagers I work with.
