Author: James Morton (---.btinternet.com)
Date: 02-11-2001 07:02
Now I am showing my age here...
Once upon a time early RPG's were all about going up levels, getting magical goodies, fighting stronger and more powerful creatures.
There was very little plot or back stories to these adventures, just get in there, fix em, kill em, and grab the loot.
Imagine the movie 'The Mummy'...cut out the intro, take out the back story, and cut to the heroes venturing in to hamunaptra killing mummies and taking down the bad guy. Typical dungeon bashing is just like that.
Then we got tired of that and wanted more, something that resembled the fantasy novels that we read. Something with intrigue, mystery, horror.
But in the end it was to be about the characters, the world moved around them, villians plots unfolded, it was down to the Characters to do something about it. No sign posts, no corridors and rooms to map. They did not have to do it, but the consequences were there.
Along comes storytelling and troupe play.
"Oh for a muse of fire that would ascend the brightest heavens of invention. A gaming table for a stage, players to act and gamemasters to behold the swelling scene"
Apologies to the bard, but that was the impression that those games left in me. Suddenly we were actors, performers. They couched roleplaying in terms of some modern passion play. You could play a debauched vampire, but you were angst ridden like some undead macbeth. The adventures felt predetermined like a script and we were only there to do our parts and the system would punish us if we tried to do our own thing.
But storytelling systems are only a small part of the hobby. There other games out there, and players tend to tinker with systems to get the game that they want. Computer games reflect the older style of gaming, it has it's appeal, but it will be a while before they can code a real living gaming environment, it's in it's infancy but it will get better.
So, no need to hang up the dicebag my friend, treat it all like a self service diner just find the thing that pleases you and leave the rest. Thats what I do.
|
|
