thread: 2006-01-17 : Hurt and Abandonment
On 2006-01-17, Vincent wrote:
Adam: Could you define what you mean by calling a play style "wimpy"?
Uh oh.
I think that when I call a play style wimpy I'm saying "I'm a judgemental prick who judges other people's fun."
The serious answer:
When I wrote a novel, part of my writing process was having conversations with my loved ones that began like this: "Now Vincent, I know I can't make you not write this, but..." As an artist, I'm not, at heart, a respecter of other people's comfort. My experience of art is that the best art is transgressive; to take "avoid transgression" as a design goal is to gut your design as art.
So allow me to clarify my statement:
For the record, I think that it's the designer's responsibility and that Nobody Gets Hurt design is wimpy.
Despite my, ehm, prickishness, I don't so much judge play styles as designs.
This makes VB go "I said 'I don't so much judge play styles as designs,' but..."
It's kind of a lie. I try not to judge play styles in public; in private life I'm kind of a snob. Now you know.
This makes NinJ go "I'm with Vincent, whatever apologia he spins"
Here I go, saying something that will hurt peoples' feelings: I think that, when you play the "NGH" way, you're systematically depriving yourself and your fellow players, whatever their intentions, of saying anything thematically intense. You can say "Slavery is wrong" but you can't set up a situation where you feel it. You can say "Women should have equal rights" but you can't set up a situation where that's challenged and triumphs. In short, it's wimpy. I'll even go so far as to say that it's cowardly: it shows fear of yourself and a hostility toward those who don't share that fear.
This makes LP go "So..."
So...IWNAY is the BDSM of the RPG world?
