FAQ - August 26

[A Lapalme]

Since posting this last week, the whole debate has become even more
complex (I didn't think this was possible). New categories have
popped up, new terms have been coined, etc.. Trying to follow it all is
nearly impossible. Trying to see if some concensus is being reached
is impossible.

I've only made minor changes to the above. New ideas have come up
(Mary's questionnaire and Leon's categorization of the axes). Given
their newness I am loath to include them in an FAQ, yet. Isis"?

Some Requests:

Mary, could you e-mail me the questionnaire you wrote up? I think
that, having it properly organized in conjunction with Leon's
categorization, we might be able to come up with something which
most people can live with.

Kevin: could you e-mail the four stances of play?

Ro for this week.

Alain
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Glossary of Terms used on Rec.games.frp.advocacy

character motivation - issues, concerns and goals which matter to a
character and which can be used by both GM and player to create RPG
plots - this may or may not lead to conflicts

dramatic necessity (sometimes equated to character motivation but
usually considered to be a seperate term) - what makes a character
tick, react; who that character is; often linked to potential conflict
and drama

plot - (several definitions)
defining it as a verb (to plot a game)

1.- creating the main story

2.- to sequence events which, when put together, create a story

3.- to create decision points, within a game, which will create
a story (usually of dramatic nature) - ideally these decision points
should strongly link to character motivation (see that def.)

POV - point of view

SOD - suspension of disbelief

YMMV - your mileage may vary [or YKMV for the metricized world ;) ]

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Dichotomies

diceless -- diced

diceless - games in which dice (or any other randomizer) are _not_
used, at all.

diced - games in which dice are used. This includes games where
diced are use infrequently to games where dice are used on an on-
going basis.

*****************
mechanics -- descriptive based (aka quantitative vs qualitative)
m-b --> mechanics based games - games in which mechanics are used
( such as quantified attributes, skills, etc) to describe characters.

d-b --> description based games - games in which prose (ie words)
are used to describe characters

******************
plot -- world based
dramatist -- simulationist
plotted -- unplotted

plot based (dramatist)-- games where plot/drama considerations are
given prominence

unplotted based(simulationist) -- games where the simulation of the
setting is given prominence

The above definitions are simplistic and really do not necessarily
capture the heart of the matter. There are many schools of thought on
this issue, based on how and when GMs make their decisions. Namely:
1) during world creation - whether or not dramatic/plot
considerations will prevail during the world creation process - ie, is
the world created for the characters to interact in or is the world
created and then characters are created to interact with the world;

2) during play - if a GM has to make a decision, will the
decision be based on whether drama is enhanced or the simulation is
maintained (note that a decision could accomplish both);

3) integrity of the setting - whether a GM decision will
enhance drama/plot at the expense of the setting or vice versa (note
that many consider this aspect a different issue altogether (see
Natural vs Directed).

NOTE: dramatic <> plot based for some people
unplotted <> simulation for some people

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The Four Stances of Play

Actor
Audience
Writer
In-Character