thread: 2006-01-05 : I suspect but can't prove...
On 2006-01-05, Vincent wrote:
This is all like where co-GMing was before Universalis. We're all hinting at it in our designs in our own ways. Little small impingements on the player's control over her character's emotions and personality, little small ways that I get to contribute to your character (but usually giving you way more oversight than you really need, I guess so that you don't startle like a bunny and run away).
In a recent 20'x20' room thread, someone said "If a GM ever told me 'if you want to hold your character as she is, don't play her,' I'd walk.
"Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but the Storyteller's role is to dictate what happens to your character, but never, ever how your character responds to it. And character death? It better have meaning if you want that player to come back the next game session."
Yep, I want to make that guy walk. The Storyteller[sic]'s role isn't to dictate what happens to your character, so maybe your role isn't to dictate how she responds to it.
This makes MW go ""Storyteller""
Use of that word, in combo with the post content, tells me a lot about the poster.
This makes Claire go ""
This makes Claire go "Take two"
I can't type. Wouldn't it be more efficient to attract people who like that rather than make those who don't walk?
This makes VB go "more efficient, maybe..."
But not nearly as personally satisfying.
This makes VB go "no, really -"
I have no idea what you're asking me, Claire. I intend to a) engage in arguments, and b) design games. Who walks, who's attracted - not really up to me.
This makes SLB go ""Qien"?"
I don't know Mandarin. What's qien?
This makes NK go "quibble quibble: sidekicks"
One of my favorite PCs was totally static. Samira van Rijn wasn't a protagonist, and I didn't want her to be. She was deliberately static, supporting cast, and her role in the story was to be static so that we could gauge the growth of the protagonist PC.
This makes JSH go "Well, then..."
... you should play one of the many existing games that supports that type of character, Neel. We don't need to smash any assumptions and design new games to make Samira possible. It's done already.
This makes NK go "We still need new designs!"
You can say the same thing about playing protagonists -- with the right group the PCs will be round, developing characters with a solid narrative arc. But that doesn't mean new games can't make it better!
The same with other kinds of characters. I and my friends solved the problems we ran into with our single-protagonist + supporting cast PCs model in one particular way, but I'm sure that all of y'all would solve it in different ways, and I want to learn them. That's what new game designs are for.
