RPGs & Storygames discussion

Sam Ashwell has blogged on his multivariate definition of the word "Storygame" - and I find his exegesis to be fruitful. How about you?

https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.c...

I was accused, in a good natured way, of having imbibed of the storygame Koolaid. I've been pondering exactly what that means.

I think that blog does a pretty good job of laying it out. Most of his bullets align with my current game preferences.

/nodding in agreement.

When the RPGPundit reviewed my game DayTrippers he referred to it as "an RPG that has let itself be muddled by the author's infection of story-game thinking." He wrapped up his review of the DayTrippers GameMasters Guide by saying "if you peeled away about half of these books' total page count by removing all the superfluous Storygame stuff, you'd be left with a fine RPG."

Can't please everyone. :-)

I guess I didn't really know there was specific terminology let alone a debate over what storygames are. My understanding of story driven conceptualized with acquiring Chaosium's BRP so it's interesting to read most are played by d6.

Aaron wrote: "I guess I didn't really know there was specific terminology let alone a debate over what storygames are. My understanding of story driven conceptualized with acquiring Chaosium's BRP so it's intere..."
Oh, you wouldn't believe it. There's been a war going on between so called 'trad' and 'indie' gamers and game designers for what feels like centuries but in reality is about the last 10-12 years. As part of that, The RPGPundit has been running a personal campaign against leading members of the story game community, and especially Ron Edwards (designer of Sorceror and Circle of Hands) on his forum TheRPGSite. I myself left RPGGeek after a thread entitled 'Are storygames RPGs?' The toxicity I saw there from people who I thought I knew really shocked me (and I'm not easily shocked). I'm using their RPG Design forum to plug one of my WIPs, but I'll never go back there as a regular user.

Tod wrote: "Sam Ashwell has blogged on his multivariate definition of the word "Storygame" - and I find his exegesis to be fruitful. How about you?

https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.c......"
A long but informative read. I think he hits the nail squarely on the head, it's the best summation of storygames I've ever come across.

The seriousness with which people take that "rift" is quite astonishing, considering it's just the plastic divider in the middle of a toolbox. So of course I set out to make games like DayTrippers which deliberately sit right in the middle of it. :->

Not the best marketing idea, but some people appreciate it, and I fantasize that future generations of roleplayers may be grateful. It's like post-racism; if you want to live in a world without such distinctions, you have to ignore the divider right now.

And why not? There's no necessity or obligation for you to make a game that fits squarely into one or other of those categories, indeed it's almost incumbent upon experimental game designers to annoy people by messing with the stereotypes. As Magritte would say, this is not a pipe.

I think it's interesting that GM-less, single-session, and decoupling of player from character are components of story games. While I definitely like to build off of players' backstories and on-going ideas (a la Apocalypse/Dungeon World), I feel like it's difficult to design a mechanic/procedure/ruleset that creates a satisfying long term campaign without someone being GM.

There's something about the dynamic where someone (or maybe more than one someone) is tasked with paying attention to the macro story while the other players are firmly entrenched in their characters' personas that makes for a particularly rewarding, long-term player experience. However, it can also lead to GM burnout.

Indeed, storygames in general tend to be geared toward one-shots or mini-campaigns.

I get it now thanks guys for the clarification, makes sense. I think I can see the value in the story game, but I probably lean more towards traditional RPG...?