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2017-12-13, 10:46 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2014
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
The only word from GNS used is "Narrative."
A word everyone here admits is not used in the GNS sense by hardly anyone.
As for the cult:
It's gone. Not even EDWARDS is a member of it. Let those old bones rest, dangit! GNS's corpse barely has time to let the dirt settle on its grave before getting dug up to be paraded about as a present threat in some kind of weird "Weekend at Burnie's" parody.
I'm fairly sure Edwards also used the word "the." We gonna start going into GNS over conjunctions next? Gimme a break. It makes no sense to have a thread where on the one hand there is agreement that nobody uses GNS terminology anymore and on the other hand one (very common, btw) word in common means GNS is suddenly returning to destroy gaming.
It's still very dead, despite this poster using a very common alternative to the terms "story-focused" or "fiction-first."
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2017-12-13, 10:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2010
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2017-12-13, 11:05 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2015
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2017-12-13, 11:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2014
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Yes and even after OP clarified and is clearly not using the GNS words in the way GNS does, we're still rattling those old bones around. And this is COMMON.
People use one of the GNS terms and suddenly we have to endure the conga line of people complaining about the mere existence of a theory nobody uses anymore, even if it did give us 3 handy-dandy words to vaguely point in the directions of preferences.
So allow me to let y'all know how most people use the terms A DECADE LATER:
Narrative: focused kinda more on the story bits than other bits.
Gamist: focused kinda more on the mechanical game bits than other bits.
Simulation: focused kinda more on the setting and verisimilitude than other bits.
Thats what most people understand of it this far down the line. Kinda like how when I say "spicy food" you have a general idea of things I may like, even if you don't know EXACTLY which spicy foods I happen to be thinking of
Does that make any sense?
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2017-12-14, 02:18 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2014
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
One the groups I am playing with went through something similar. Our solution has been overlaying Fate most recognizable mechanical elements over 5e inspiration mechanics. So the DM can compel the characters based on their ideals, bonds and flaws, rewarding them with inspiration, and the characters can spend inspiration to "bend" or add elements to a scene as if they were creating an aspect. Or you can get advantage on a roll as per normal inspiration rules.
No player at the table is forced to use the system, since it's entirely possible to just use 5e mechanics. But it definitely adds an element of fun for those comfortable with player contributing to the narratives not directly through the resolution of their character's action.
As a corollary, we raised the maximum amount of inspiration one can "hoard", to 3 +1 per tier of play (o 4 at 6th, 5 at 11th, etc).
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2017-12-14, 10:26 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2007
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
People seem to be struggling with the idea that you can use GNS "terms" without GNS definitions, and that without using the GNS definitions, they're not actually GNS terms, they're just WORDS. Words that have, if not rigorously defined meanings, at least vague popular conceptions of what they mean which have nothing to do with GNS at all.
Last edited by Airk; 2017-12-14 at 10:30 AM.
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2017-12-14, 11:04 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2016
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- The Lakes
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Not really -- it's more that these words get tossed into the discussion, and even in the specific context of gaming, we rarely know exactly what that particular person might mean.
For example, I've never used "Narrativism" or "Narrativist" in exactly the way that The Cult of Edwards wanted them used, regarding "exploration of theme / premise". To me, it's always been about Narrative Causality ("things happen because The Plot demands they happen") and Narrative Mechanics (specific rules/systems exist to allow players to manipulate the setting or NPCs outside their characters' actions and influence, which screams "metagaming" to me). That's taken from the broader usage of the word in both the writing and gaming contexts; see also, I never use "incoherent" in the way Edwards wanted to, either.
Other people do still mean "narratavist" in a very specifically Edwardian way.
Other people mean "anything to do with a good story", going so far as to include character, setting, etc.
That's the problem with "words mean whatever we want them to" linguistics and proliferating terms of art.Last edited by Max_Killjoy; 2017-12-14 at 11:44 AM. Reason: Typo
It is one thing to suspend your disbelief. It is another thing entirely to hang it by the neck until dead.
Verisimilitude -- n, the appearance or semblance of truth, likelihood, or probability.
The concern is not realism in speculative fiction, but rather the sense that a setting or story could be real, fostered by internal consistency and coherence.
The Worldbuilding Forum -- where realities are born.
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2017-12-14, 11:24 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2015
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
For sure. I made several posts based on a very hazy understanding of GNS, basically no more than the three terms and my assumption of what they meant, less than two years ago on these very forums. After several other posters called me out on it, and it being both a dead theory and a stupid one in the first place, I went and researched it and found that was correct.
GNS is a dead theory, and was BS in the first place.
So to answer your question, no, it doesn't make sense to talk about GNS.
However, I think the term Narrative is useful, just not in the commonly-misinterpreted-from-GNS way of "describing stuff", or the BS people throw around about RPGs being "cooperative storytelling".
That's why I gave my interpretation of what narrative play means, and what it's 'opposite' is. Because emergent storytelling (recounting the story of the game after the fact), narrative resolution (GM determine resolution based on what's needed for the plot), and narrative mechanics (mechanics that allow the player to affect the plot) are not BS.
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2017-12-14, 11:47 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2010
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
I really wish we'd go back to using GDS and getting rid of the Forge baggage.
That said, what you've described is a good summary of GDS. It is not, however, how I often see people use narrative. As an example: By that definition, a D&D game could be "narrativist", but I've never heard D&D described as so, even in terms of a specific game.
That's really all I said about Forge theory - that it was the origin of the term, and I found it ironic that very few people use it in anywhere near that context, especially given the lack of anything near a common definition.
Which is why my first post was literally just "define what you mean by narrativist". Because if I know what it means to the OP, then I can help them.
I don't think that I agree with the bolded part. I think people often mean *very different* things when they say narrativism.
Like, when I say "gamist," I kinda get what that means. And I think if you took me and a random gamer, and asked if ten things were gamist or not, we'd probably be in 90% agreement.
If you said "narrativist", I wouldn't presume that we were over 60% or so.
That's the problem I've found with terms like this - people *think* that there's more agreement on what they mean than there actually is, and so they can nod along, not realizing that the two people are actually having different conversations.
Here's some things I've found to be common in what people mean by "narrative":
1) A moderate to high amount of Type 3 interactions
2) A game that is structurally closer to a movie or novel, or is more likely to contain the mix of activities of a movie or a novel.
3) A game that comes out of the game design thought process of the key contributors at the Forge
4) A game that allows some level of player authorship (arguably redundant with the first point)
5) Not using common, often wargame-derived, structures
Apocalypse World, for instance, is almost entirely Point 3 by definition (though it often includes a high amount of Type 4 by cultural assumption).
Fate is all about Point 2 and 4, though it really has pretty limited player authorship.
The real common ground is Point 5, though Fate hews closer to them than many other "narrative" games.
Yet they're both called narrative.
Yup. I have similar issues with words like "gritty". Everybody has a vague idea of what they mean, and assumes everyone else means the same thing, but all too often they don't mean the same thing at all."Gosh 2D8HP, you are so very correct (and also good looking)"
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2017-12-14, 11:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2015
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2017-12-14, 12:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2016
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- The Lakes
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
It is one thing to suspend your disbelief. It is another thing entirely to hang it by the neck until dead.
Verisimilitude -- n, the appearance or semblance of truth, likelihood, or probability.
The concern is not realism in speculative fiction, but rather the sense that a setting or story could be real, fostered by internal consistency and coherence.
The Worldbuilding Forum -- where realities are born.
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2017-12-14, 12:11 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2010
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2017-12-14, 12:33 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2009
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- Denver.
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Looking for feedback on Heart of Darkness, a character driven RPG of Gothic fantasy.
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2017-12-14, 12:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2010
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
If 5e is too "mechanically complex" then I dunno. It sounds like your group would be better off with something really light, if not freeform entirely.
Plague Doctor by Crimmy
Ext. Sig (Handbooks/Creations)
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2017-12-14, 12:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2016
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- The Lakes
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
It is one thing to suspend your disbelief. It is another thing entirely to hang it by the neck until dead.
Verisimilitude -- n, the appearance or semblance of truth, likelihood, or probability.
The concern is not realism in speculative fiction, but rather the sense that a setting or story could be real, fostered by internal consistency and coherence.
The Worldbuilding Forum -- where realities are born.
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2017-12-16, 02:26 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2012
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- Spring, TX
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Woah, hey, so, it sounds like I owe an apology. I started the post, went away, did some reading, and came back to a lot of people trying to figure out what I meant when I hadn't paid serious attention to TTRPG theory in five years. So. Let's ditch the GNS terminology I used. And yes, that was the source of the wording for the title.
So. I'm looking for a game that is mechanically simple. The base mechanics of FATE are about where it should rest, give or take. I am looking for a game that steers its players (and GM/MC/DM/w/e) away from an adversarial playstyle. Finally, I am looking for a game that has mechanics that encourage players to make choices based on creating an interesting story, rather than entirely trusting that an interesting story will fall out of playing in an adversarial manner.
For clarification: When I use the word "adversarial," I am referring to the mindset that the game is GM vs. players.
Yeah. That's what prompted FATE, tbh. I'm tempted to just force PbtA at this point.
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2017-12-16, 05:33 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2014
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Mouseguard (a simpler adaptation of Burning Wheel) fits some of the bill. The system is really easy, conflict is abstract and narrative rather than turn-by-turn, and the game pretty much expects the players to state their goals and the GM to adapt and bend the session to those stated goals. It is a game though, where the GM is explicitly encouraged to go hard on the players and throw even the kitchen sink at them, challenge-wise - so I don't know where it stands on your "non adversarial" clause.
the games suggest a rather formulaic session structure that I find quite interesting, that goes like this:
1- GM introduces the current mission / task
2- each players declares a Goal tied to the session task
3- a GM turn, in which challenges are thrown at the players, and ends either with the resolution of the mission, or in a place where the characters can "slow down" and rest. The game assumes the GM will tailor the challenges to the Goals the players stated in step 2 above
4- a player's turn, in which the players get a number of "scenes" to either recover from consequences accrued during the GM turn, or to pursue personal goals.
plus, you are playing anthropomorphic, intelligent mice. It can be enough to sell the game to some audiences :D
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2017-12-16, 10:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2008
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
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2017-12-16, 11:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2016
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
All else aside, character-based decisions make for far better stories than plot-based decisions.
Last edited by Max_Killjoy; 2017-12-16 at 12:23 PM.
It is one thing to suspend your disbelief. It is another thing entirely to hang it by the neck until dead.
Verisimilitude -- n, the appearance or semblance of truth, likelihood, or probability.
The concern is not realism in speculative fiction, but rather the sense that a setting or story could be real, fostered by internal consistency and coherence.
The Worldbuilding Forum -- where realities are born.
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2017-12-16, 12:07 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2014
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2017-12-16, 12:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2010
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Why do those have to be mutually exclusive anyway? Actors in stories make decisions based on plot and character simultaneously all the time.
Plague Doctor by Crimmy
Ext. Sig (Handbooks/Creations)
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2017-12-16, 12:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2009
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Originally Posted by Original Poster
Originally Posted by Original Poster
But what is this interesting story you wish to make, what are these interesting choices you want your players to make?
Originally Posted by Original Poster
If that does not help, break it down: what are the things that your players would consider adversarial? By contrast, what would be the things they'd consider co-operative?"It's the fate of all things under the sky,
to grow old and wither and die."
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2017-12-16, 06:39 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2010
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Why not just run Fate slightly more traditionally? I guarantee it can be done. I've done it.
Heck, based on our conversations, I think most people probably play Fate closer to "traditional' gaming than you think it needs to be played.
I totally agree. Characters pursuing their goals makes for great stories!Last edited by kyoryu; 2017-12-16 at 06:42 PM.
"Gosh 2D8HP, you are so very correct (and also good looking)"
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2017-12-16, 10:49 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2016
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- The Lakes
Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
It is one thing to suspend your disbelief. It is another thing entirely to hang it by the neck until dead.
Verisimilitude -- n, the appearance or semblance of truth, likelihood, or probability.
The concern is not realism in speculative fiction, but rather the sense that a setting or story could be real, fostered by internal consistency and coherence.
The Worldbuilding Forum -- where realities are born.
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2017-12-17, 01:23 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2011
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- Calgary, AB
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Where does "I want the plot to go this way, so the character should have traits that lead to them doing this" fall? Like, it would be far more sensible for any given Horror Protagonist to NOPE right on out of whatever scenario is presented, but they're almost always curious enough to take the first peek that sends them down the rabbit hole, or have some person/macguffin they need to get back.
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2017-12-17, 09:42 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2016
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
What's one the tricks of getting it right -- matching the character to the story.
Depends on what kind of horror story. The stereotypical slasher flick requires a collection of blithering idiots from an alternate universe where slasher movies don't exist.It is one thing to suspend your disbelief. It is another thing entirely to hang it by the neck until dead.
Verisimilitude -- n, the appearance or semblance of truth, likelihood, or probability.
The concern is not realism in speculative fiction, but rather the sense that a setting or story could be real, fostered by internal consistency and coherence.
The Worldbuilding Forum -- where realities are born.
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2017-12-17, 09:57 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2009
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Re: Striking the middle ground between narrativist and gamist
Not really. The most annoying characters in horror fiction act idiotically even for people who have never heard of horror.
Others end up in a horrifying position because they act like people who do not believe themselves to be in a horror story, which is far more tolerable."It's the fate of all things under the sky,
to grow old and wither and die."