Over on BVC blog, I posted a response to a column on SF Signal on the relationship between RPGs and sf/f writing. My view is that there's an overlap but not a causal connection. I seem to have gotten a bunch of people upset (this is a good thing). Check it out and let me know what you think. It's not a matter of who's right and who's crazy, but that we all have different experiences and if we listen to one another, we can learn stuff.
I find RPG's too stifling. Life doesn't fit into a neat box, it isn't as black and white as a roll of the dice. I think some good concepts can come from it, an interesting start to a character, but in order for a story to work, it needs to develop outside the box. I don't like movies that come from video games for the same reason -not enough depth.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes! My thoughts, too. And good point on the game-based movies.
ReplyDeleteA number of RPGs have been moving away from the "storytelling" nomenclature and instead place rules on exploring human (and not so human) relationships and the events that stress them until they are interesting. Computer RPGs are still preprogrammed, but as that evolves there is more in the way of at least simulated choice. With that in mind, writing books from the experiences and adventures of your characters should be just as valid as that of writing books from the experiences and adventures you've had, provided the skills are still there.
ReplyDeleteSpomenka, I like the way you put that, "events that stress them until they are interesting." Yep, torturing characters is a great way to go. It strikes me there are (at least) 2 levels of experiences here. One is those lived vicariously through the characters; that is, the player learns and grows through the learning and growing of the character he's playing, the character as extension of the player. The second is that the player can observe his own feelings and behavior as a player rather than a character, interacting with other players. Does this make sense?
ReplyDelete