RRoleplaying is the simplest game in the world. To make it more
accessible, to let it develop to new levels, to create richer
backgrounds, better characters, more involving stories, a more complex
environment for our imaginings, all we have to do is remember that
fact.S
James Wallis, 'Realism Vs Playability?' in INTER*ACTION 1.
You canUt separate [systemless techniques] out from the rest of roleplaying, you canUt draw neat boundaries and say that a particular style starts HERE and ends THERE. When I say for example, that systemless gaming emphasises x, IUm not suggesting that other forms of roleplaying donUt cater to x.
Buying Back Our Imaginations
The fact that systemless gaming is considered new or revolutionary or even dangerous is a sad comment on the commercial interests that shape our hobby. These interests tell us that roleplaying is really about buying things -- buying rules and buying ideas ... [it] seeks to free our imagination -- but only so much. It focuses on the wargaming rather than the storytelling aspects of our hobby, because rules and regulations can be copyrighted, packaged and sold. It seeks to channel our imagination along very narrow (and commercially lucrative) paths. If we truly trust our creativity and storytelling abilities, do we really need to buy 9th Edition Housewives and Holdens, with the appendix on Bohemian Ear Spoons and the optional rules for tire blowouts during meteor storms?.... Commercial roleplaying has a vested (financial) interest in making us believe we need elaborate rule systems and supplements, and that storytelling is difficult without dice rolling and extensive scenario guidelines. Commercial gaming takes our dreams and stories and fantasies and sells them back to us as product.
Roleplaying as we know it, by some strange quirk of history, began in wargaming. Gary Gygax has a lot to answer for. Parts of that wargaming legacy are still with us, especially in commercial gaming -- the emphasis on rules, dice and mathematics, the kill-or-be-killed plots, Us versus Them, the figurines and grid maps, the glorification of the adolescent male in all of us. ... Its a rewarding exercise to imagine what roleplaying would be like if it began slightly differently, with a different set of assumptions. What if it began as a development of impromptu theatre, or non-competitive theatre sports, or story telling, or live action playing, or as part of the dramas, myths and rituals so important in so many religious traditions and in sections of the Mens, Womens and Human Potential Movements? All of these approaches have good points and bad points; all of them are very different from the wargaming model that has dominated our history. They emphasise different senses, different forms of presentation, different rationales. As a thought experiment, it helps us to imagine some of the aspects of roleplaying we presently undervalue or ignore.
There are a number of core characteristics that most systemless games share. Obviously, they operate according to the rules of drama and ritual and storytelling rather than the rules of a dice-driven gaming system. Generally, they emphasise in-depth characterisation, atmosphere, and concentrate on exploring emotional or moral themes. They rely heavily on inter-player trust and interaction, and on mutual storytelling.
Future Challenges
ThereUs still a long way to go. We are only just beginning to understand the use of myth and ritual and archetype in roleplaying. What exactly *is* a hero, and just how does the hero's journey translate into roleplaying terms? How do our characters relate to ourselves, and how can an understanding of this improve the enjoyment of our games?... Hung up on sometimes facile comparisons with amateur theatre, we have yet to properly explore the nature and tools of oral storytelling -- our true ancestor. Drumming and mask work are a major unexplored frontiers. Freeforming is stagnant, in urgent need of fresh insights. The very idea of conventions could benefit from a major rethink. Oh yeah, and Housewives and Holdens needs to be updated to 10th Edition.
Our innovations to date have been mainly stylistic; the same types of stories are still being told. Its as though, in the bookstore analogy, weUve discovered how to write westerns and war stories in new ways: we still havenUt learned how to write romance novels or travelogues or biographies or fairy tales.
I donUt think roleplaying has a single clear future. I hope it continues in many different directions. As our hobby continues to mature, I expect that the lines between storytelling, roleplaying, literature and drama will become increasingly fuzzy, while roleplaying itself will develop a strong and confident awareness of its uniqueness. As long as we value imagination and self-expression, we will have that essential freedom to create.
In all of this, I don't claim to have many answers. But systemless gaming has proven itself to be a major way of exploring different options and of asking new questions, of forging new types of story. Its not the final answer - its not even a viable option in certain situations. But its a valuable and versatile part of our roleplaying toolkit. Its a vehicle for imagination and exploration. Its here to stay.
Cheers
John
Disengage Soap Box
Engage Shield
Prepare for Incoming
... a flying arrow, a crashing wave, night old ice, a coiled snake,
a bride's bed talk, a broken sword, the play of bears, a king's son. Havamal 86.
End of Glorantha Digest V1 #251
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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