Categorizing the various approaches used to make solo RP fun.
(Please see linked discussion for background if interested. This is one of the topics I wanted to fork from that original discussion into its own thread.)
Open topic, so feel free to suggest other categories, changes to the proposed ones, tips/tricks/approaches that fit into one or another, and thoughts on how categorizing stuff might help push innovation in solo RP.
Provisional categories:
This by the way, leads me to how I classified most of the suggestions here (and you all tell me if you feel your suggestion fits or not):
1. Engage in an additional level of make believe (e.g. pretend dice are imaginary GM, emulate other players, etc.)
2. Reframe expectations of solo rp from attaining TGME into having fun by other means. (e.g. treat it like a puzzle).
3. Separate character knowledge from player knowledge (e.g. knowing NPC goals and determining actions accordingly).
4. using the oracle in a vaguely consistant fashion (e.g. generate more random events than needed so there's a larger chance of getting something that you can use).
5. “Game” the tools of solo RP so as to minimize problematic output (e.g. to me generating more random events to increase the chances of more sensical results, as in #4 would feel like I'm "gaming" the tool-- not less fun, but not really TFGME for me)
I will amend the post with that. I think this might be one of those subjective things. :) I imagined myself adopting some of what you described and I felt immediately like I would be "gaming" the tool to get what I would consider to be an acceptable result.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a knock against the approach, btw, which I think it's totally logical way of getting what you need (and increases the fun). I just have unrealistic expectations of what's perhaps currently possible, I think, for what constitutes TFGME.
Thanks for your feedback, as always.
(BTW, do you have a link to your horror game, for that other post?)
I would add another point, related to immersion. Freeform imagination doesn't work much for me, while I believe that ritual descriptive actions can anchor and expand scenes and memories. I wrote a small something on the topic a few years back https://doubleninja.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/principle-of-immersive-actions/
ReplyDeleteAlex Yari , It's definitely very subjective. It works for me because I know what I'm doing and it doesn't feel like cheating (I will sometimes re-roll 'PC Positive' events though -- I can never think of how to implement them).
ReplyDeleteI added links to the other post for the horror game.
I should also mention that I find point 3 above does not break my immersion. If anything, it sometimes deepens it. In my current DSA adventure my PC and her NPC party meet some bandits in a roadside inn (haven't got to writing up this post yet, though). The bandits end up following them up the road the next morning. The bandits aren't actually following the party, but just happened to be going that direction thanks to a die roll. But the party assumed the bandits had evil intent (why wouldn't they?) and acted accordingly. Good fun.