thread: 2005-11-14 : Long and Short
On 2005-11-15, Chris wrote:
Long running media doesn't always involve non-changing characters. But that aside- it's true- episodic structure is utterly necessary.
Soap operas run 3-5 storylines simultaneously- working in a round-robin style so they always overlap and never all wrap up at the same time. Comic books tend to work best with short story arcs. Chain books are self contained as books. Sagas and epics are usually lots of smaller stories within a larger one- usually "built" outside-in, not serially.
I think historically we've seen long games as "easier" to design, simply because NOT designing structural endpoints (and leaving it in the hands of the group) is always easier than designing something.
The reason a lot of the Forge stuff has endgame and closure mechanics is that it's easier to apply pressure and figure out climax points when you have an ending point.
This makes TC go "This Resonates..."
Your part about "easier to apply presure and figure out a climax" really does describe the games I've written for the Ronnies. Doesn't mean that it's the only or best way, it just happens to suit *my way* of design.
This makes Chris go "Thing is..."
You need SOME way to figure out when the "song" is over. For improv musicians, they usually develop a set of musical and gesture cues to bring things to a close. They also work with a severe time constraint that helps them get there quickly.
Since most games don't even talk about there being an end- gamers are left without the tools to bring their music to a close- and eventually the audience/musicians just get up and leave...
