Comments on: Fun and Games

By: Ari Marmell

Ari Marmell — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:28:40 +0000

“I think CJ Cherryh once wrote about this quite vehemently, unfortunately I can’t find the link.”
Hmm. If you manage to find it, I’d love to take a look.
“One thing I’d like to add to “Creative Solutions” is that this doesn’t just apply to fantasy lit.”
Oh, absolutely. I limited my discussion to fantasy because, well, that’s what I’ve been talking about. (And because fantasy boasts the most popular RPG–D&D–and the greatest number of RPGs.) But it certainly applies to other genre fiction–sci-fi, horror, etc.–for which comparable RPGs exist.

By: JDMcDonnell

JDMcDonnell — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:06:44 +0000

Excellent article Ari, especially since there does seem to be a jealous rift between RPG’s and fantasy lit that just doesn’t need to be there. I think CJ Cherryh once wrote about this quite vehemently, unfortunately I can’t find the link.
One thing I’d like to add to “Creative Solutions” is that this doesn’t just apply to fantasy lit. Most serious lit is “character driven” too and one thing which is the mark of a good DM as well as a good Author is the recognition that the Player Characters make the story. The DM provides the background and gives the opposition a voice, but ultimately the story revolves around the rest of the world reacting to what the PC’s do.
And I can’t agree with you enough on the difference between tabletop games and computer games. Computer RPG’s may be pretty, and Tabletop games can be just as inflexible as their digital versions (good luck trying to plot a romance into a game of Battletech), but Tabletop games aren’t locked into a limited number of actions and that makes all the difference.

By: Bookkeeper

Bookkeeper — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:00:30 +0000

Thanks for this.
As an aspiring writer (a title that afflicts many a GM, I would reckon), I had not considered the use of a game-esque outline to help me plot out a story. Too often, I feel like I need that group of players to help me figure out what comes next – I feed off of their responses.
An excellent article and I look forward to the next one.