[Gaming] RPG as Movie Experience -- Illusionism in Action

[adamdray]

This is my discussion of something called "illusionism," closely associated with "railroading," and how some gamers just want to be told a story.

If you haven't yet listened to Theory from the Closet #44: Interview with Mike Mearls, you should. This is a really well-crafted interview with the lead developer of D&D 4th Edition

Comments

[rob_donoghue]

I really feel like "Meaningful" is the rub of this, since there are so many ways it might be defined.

[adamdray]

Absolutely! I was trying to make that point. I don't know how well I succeeded.

Meaningful is one of those personal things! If it's meaningful to you, who can tell you that it isn't?

[adamdray]

Why is this? Tell me.

I am pretty sure I don't agree.

[adamdray]

Yeah, I need to gather up their emails and shove them messily onto the list; I doubt they read my LJ post telling them to get on, or they read it and nodded and forgot.

I'm hoping your level of commitment is contagious and spreads to them.

If anything, they are in the wrong game. You are definitely in the right one.

I am not interested in making movies for them to watch. I did that as a DM for about twenty years already. It was fun. Now I want to share in the creation process.

This post is about how their preference is no less valid than mine, even if I'm not interested in doing that thing.

[adamdray]

Oh, good. I felt guilty hand-waving the ranger's death when I was pretty ready to fuck the warlord. It felt different though (death during extended rest for the ranger vs. death in the middle of combat due to negative thousand hit points for the warlord).

[greyorm]

4. Or you know it's happening and you sit back and take it because there's dick you can do about it.

Or maybe that is just #2, with the "knowing" issue at the forefront.

That's also been an extremely common situation in my experience. It makes you grind your teeth before you become habituated, and builds up years of frustration, but if you want to play at all, ever, with anyone around you...