thread: 2005-10-20 : The Fruitful Void
On 2005-10-28, Troy_Costisick wrote:
Heya,
John Hastings Wrote:
The "fruitful void" in a gamist game is going to come down to a question of tactical choices: it's a space where the players can show off their mastery of the game and/or creativity in overcoming challenges. If there's no real choice in the game—i.e. if there's really only one way to win—then you don't have a "fruitful void". The extent to which the "fruitful void" has actually been achieved in existing Gamist games is a whole other issue.
The more and more I think about it, the more I come to believe that the Fruitful Void for Gamism has to be filled with things like Social Prestige, a Sense of Accomplishment, or in something like DnD, the sense of excitement a player gets as he builds the perfect Magic: The Gathering Deck. I think strategy and tactics are the arrows that build the whirlpool of Esteem. The trick is, to make the strategy and tactics different (or at least diverse) every time.
Peace,
-Troy_Costisick
