[UA] Players screwed over

[Royal Minister of Stuff]

--- Chad Underkoffler <chadu at yahoo.com> wrote:
> From: Royal Minister of Stuff yokeltania at yahoo.com
> Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 23:50:45 -0700 (PDT) 
> 
> > You, sir, sound like someone to whom the term
> > "metagaming" holds no fear.  
> 
> Depends. 
> use of Out-Of-Character knowledge annoying, if not
> actively
> wrong.

I beleive OOC knowledge is important to game play.  I
think gamers are smart and like feeling smart.  RPGs
are largely a cerebral activity.

I've also seen a lot of movies.  Lots and lots.  I was
a media communications major in college and I had to
watch the whole damn foundation of American Cinema
(or, rather, US cinema -it omitted, of course, race
pictures, porno, industrial and propoganda films, but
that's another point.) 

In movies, which I beleive most roleplayers use as
their primary basis for game decisions (there are
notable exceptions, of course, but I'm generalizing on
the principle that this discussion is about
foundations and frameworks and can, therefore,
approach things in a broader manner.  Tinkering can be
done later.)

Anyway, where was I?  Oh yes, In movies, there are
hundreds, maybe thousands of ways for the leads to
come upon important information.  Since, without
important information, plots do not progress, I don't
care how players come by their information.  The GM is
trying to create a story and should be ready to let
information get to the players by any means it can. 

The real problem would seem to be not that players
stand a chance of being punished for bringing guesses,
player knowledge and downright eavesdropping to the
game.  The problem is that players need a chance to be
clever in how they introduce this information.  If you
allow players to use in-character knowledge with the
single stipulation that players "spin" the knowledge
into their character (make up some excuse for their
character to have it -no matter how flimsy), then you
erase both the need to discipline players and a lot of
problems with presenting information.

The difference is one of approach I guess.  It's the
difference between saying "no you can't" and "please
be clever."  Gamers seem to love trying to be clever,
but who the hell wants to hear "No, you can't."

That's one of the laws of improvisational anything. 
Never say no.


> > Yeah.  I wish I could run the sort of story people
> > seem to want to be in, but I just plain hate
> Farscape.
> 
> THis came off as sort of a non-sequitur to me.

Well, it's from a big problem I've had recruiting
players.  Gamers seem to want stories that are either:

1. A group of thugs breaks into some ugly peoples'
homes and rob and slaughter them, to the delight of
the homogenized bourgois at the edge of the slums

2. Some truly noble and misunderstood monsters brood
over the machinations of fate, kill or ridicule anyone
who makes even the slightest mistake in their stylish
presence and look down on anyone who tries to live
without magic or despair

3. A group of pretty, righteous and quirky space
explorers from the pinnacles of their respective
cultures wander from flawed world to flawed world and
teach them the way to be Happy and Efficient members
of the corporate galaxy.  This last example is, of
course, Farscape (and Voyager and Star Trek: The Next
Generation and Andromeda and Babylon Five ad nauseum.)

This worlds MUST be easy to do, because some many
people seem to be able to do them.  I can't, however,
and it's very frustrating.

That's how I know I'm not better, just different (if I
was better, I could run a Farscape game or a High
Fantasy adventure or a Noble Monster game, but
something always seems to go wrong.)


As far as immersion versus Avatar-lite goes, well,
that's easy.  It depends on what mood the players are
in and how easily they can spook themselves with any
rumour you can introduce about the place they play. 
If the buy the "this kid committed suicide right in
this very community room about 15 years ago" or at
least play off it, these are players who dig some
immersion this evening.  If the mock you, play the
beer & pretzels stuff.

=====
-- Rp Bowman, Royal Minister of Stuff
The Electronic Nation of Yokeltania:
http://www.geocities.com/yokeltania/

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