thread: 2005-11-10 : Open House: Ask a Frequent Question...
On 2006-01-27, Mark W wrote:
Expanding from Marginalia...
Looking at roleplaying as a literary form makes sense to me on one level - as a creation of meaningful thematic content through the use of the elements of exploration. And the "ongoing informed agreement" part makes sense. What I'm not sure I get is where the other major difference between roleplaying and the other forms mentioned is reflected.
The roleplaying game is not only reflexive - "ongoing informed agreement" and all that - but also ephemeral. There is no product, no artifact that can be shared by anyone other than the creators. Now, I know, you can be all post-modern and say that that's true for other forms of literature, but it seems to me a meaningful difference. What we create in roleplaying is just for us, right here at this table. Where's that stand in your conception of rp, Vincent?
