RE: Re: Augment timing

From: Matthew Cole <matthew.cole_at_...>
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:18:18 +0100


I'm of the same opinion. I have sensed a lot of internal roleplaying/story goodness happening in the minds of my players (and when I'm playing too). It's been my desire to encourage these processes to happen in the open; I believe it could be very positive in terms of group understanding where individuals are coming from. It could encourage and feed new players and also promote the somewhat radical idea that everyone can be involved in any aspect of a game.

My reaction has been to try to get the thought processes out in the open (perhaps because I find this conducive myself) but I see the value in adopting a more theatrical approach as you describe earlier.

I have felt a little frustrated with TV drama over the last couple of years because they seem to show characters internal processes (I assume to involve the audience) openly in nearly every circumstances. Sometimes I'm left with the strong feeling: "but surely the other person can see that facial expression!"; it may be an attempt to make up for poor acting or direction skills :). I see this as relating to the subject we are discussing - I'm happier when a character's internal processes are part of the game but would hate to think there needs to be a measurable impact in the game world for every single contest.  

-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of simon_hibbs2

[It's true that I do prefer the theatrical approach, mainly as a reaction to]
 the high degree of internal complexity I often see in the characters in my games and the relative paucity and weakness of inter-character relationships. Players build their characters in isolation and spend hours thinking about them and developing them on their own or with some Narrator assistance between sessions. This produces a built-in bias towards internal monologue which, as a Narrator, I want to coax out into the open where it becomes something other characters can relate to and interact with.

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