Solo RPG and "Just Writing": A thought experiment
I wonder if some of you would indulge me and carry out this thought experiment for me:
Imagine you have an RPG group, and that you play regularly. You actually gather physically in one place to game on an actual table. It can be any RPG you like.
Here's the twist: there are a couple of restrictions on how you can communicate.
1. You have all agreed that you will only roleplay and communicate by writing stuff down in one notebook (or electronic device) you all share at the table.
2. You can only write things in character or in an authorial voice.
3. The only OOC communication allowed are written questions to the GM. Only questions about the world and NPCs that can be answered with a 'yes' or a 'no'.
4. The GM is an actual human but wish only contribution will be to answer yes or no questions. This is the only way in which you get to know what happens in the GM controlled world. (Basically, if an idea embedded in your question matches what the GM has in mind or appeals to her, you get a 'yes' and that means the idea is true in the fictional world)
Does this still feel like role playing? Has it crossed into the realm of a collaborative writing exercise? Is that in itself not roleplaying?
Tell me what you think.
More narrative-focused games with less-than-typical roleplaying game mechanics might present some challenges to solo play as well as useful techniques. Brent Newhall's Drop -- available as pay-what-you-want over at DriveThruRPG (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/116107/Drop) -- actually employs a version of what Alex Yari proposes: after establishing some "unknowns" to explore or complicate matters, each player, as a crew member on a spaceship, jots down one sentence in the "log" about what they're doing. In a simple escalation mechanic (okay, I suggested it to Brent...) the player then rolls 1d6, and if that is equal to or less than the turn number in the game (it only has four turns before everything goes wrong), the next player writes "but..." and a complication after the player's initial statement. So in a sense -- aside from introducing characters and determining "unknowns" -- the general gameplay takes the form of players writing down their characters' actions. Worth a look for a one-shot game with a fun/deadly Aliens or Prometheus feel. It's very structured, but suitable for solitaire or group play.
ReplyDeletePeter,
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really interesting for a solo game with a very tight premise. Maybe with a table of possible malfunctions that you have to solve, until you reach a certain number and the ship goes kaput. To add some roleplaying, maybe you get to write s.o.s messages in character, requesting something. On a success, you get it.
Dunno. It's late, my brain is tired, and now I'm overexcited. Maybe this is another interesting direction that playing solo can go.