I've found that I have a recurring problem in my solo gaming, something akin to writer's block for the solitaire gamer. Every so often I'll have the urge and the time for a game. I will gather whatever I need for the RPG or wargame and get set up. And then as I look down at the table I lose my suspension of disbelief and can't get passed the fact that I'm just pushing cardboard and dice around the table.
Does anyone else ever experience this? And if so, what methods have you all developed to get past the mental block?
Monday, July 17, 2017
I've found that I have a recurring problem in my solo gaming, something akin to writer's block for the solitaire gamer. Every so often I'll have the urge and the time for a game. I will gather whatever I need for the RPG or wargame and get set up. And then as I look down at the table I lose my suspension of disbelief and can't get passed the fact that I'm just pushing cardboard and dice around the table.
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Writing the journal of the character's life. So this is about producing an artifact that can be read by others.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how applicable this is to a pure crunch game, but for me, it's about purpose and conflict.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't feel like there's a purpose (which in this case is probably best defined as mostly, "a fun experience for me", plus a little "a neat AP to share"), it's hard to get started. And if there isn't a clear and interesting conflict, it's hard to keep going.
First, have a hero I really like who has concrete, specific, and immediate problems. "Funnel" or "roll 3d6" characters don't work for me.
Second, I like to have a starting problem; start things off right in the middle of bad stuff so there's never a point where I'm spinning my wheels wondering, "what happens next?".
If I do reach a point where I wonder that, I roll up a random event. So I like to have lots of those at hand.
Which is why a lot of my prep/design is coming up with ways to make heroes who are very much like novel characters and creating generators to kick things off and keep it going.
For a pure crunch game, I'd expect the joy is in seeing if you can beat the challenge, so setting harder challenges would be something to try, maybe. Or trying out a new system or mechanic.
I've been thinking about how to add drama to my game.
ReplyDeleteIn a word- Shakespeare.
If the characters are lively enough, they could carry on ribald jokes, hyperbolic soliloquies, and wry asides while discovering treasures and assailing denizens of the deep.
I feel for ya! Bear with me here... ;)
ReplyDeleteI've been approaching solitaire RPG plays as a writing experience. So far I've been lucky enough to not only have interesting ideas pop into my head, but to take Actual Plays to the next step and create something I'd actually enjoy reading back. Although I thought I'd initially enjoy dungeon delving, it's just not for me; at least, not played as a solitary experience.
I swore to myself that when I finally grow up (shush, you!) I'll take the time to start writing stories. Maybe not the Great American Novel, but something, just to keep my creative juices flowing as I age.
As such, I've been keeping a page in a OneNote book with a cache of ideas I randomly/sporadically come up with. These may be adequate for short stories, or could be deep enough to warrant dropping into a long-form project. I try to keep the ideas as concise as possible, with a PREMISE and THOUGHTS, such as:
----------Swallowed Whole-------------
PREMISE: A generation ship is enroute to a new star system. In transit, the ship is confronted by an alien artifact which "swallows" the ship whole.
THOUGHTS: Aliens will transport the ship to its destination while studying the human colony. Why? Possibly to see if the humans are capable of helping them to defeat a foe?
_________________________________
I try to think of at least one idea a week, but I never develop these right away. At some point, this will be my pile of ideas to sift through, to see if anything sounds interesting enough to make me sit down to write.
Now that I'm starting to figure out how to roleplay on my own, I've got this huge list of ideas to tap into when I'm fresh out of new ones! Maybe an idea won't work for a story, but a small part of it might be great for RPG play, and that might help the idea develop into a better story.
So to summarize, I would suggest trying to cache ideas when the inspiration hits, to save up for those rainy days when nothing new sounds interesting or plausible. If you use an idea, "check it out" of the library. If it's not working for you, check it back in and note what didn't feel right (and don't feel bad about marking it as "a stupid idea"). Come back to it at a later time; try another idea for now!
No matter what, it's always going to be about pushing cardboard and plastic around a table. I feel that, if I'm playing a board game solo, I often have that same disconnect you're describing. If I'm going purely for the story-driven roleplay, however, I'm less likely to feel that same way. Then my only worry is that I'll see something shiny in the middle of writing, and get sidetracked and pulled out of the moment. Slightly different problem for another thread. :D
I like that. The awesome box.
ReplyDeleteMake a list of everything you think is exciting or fun.
If you keep it in the box, you have a better chance of using it someday.
And meanwhile, looking for awesomesauce is just a good practice.
Some great ideas here. I find that I have the most trouble starting, and then again moving from chapter to chapter, the transitions can be very difficult.
ReplyDeleteI also am having trouble getting the hang of roleplaying by myself. Sometimes I feel a bit silly. One idea that I've had is doing only the roughest strokes of the scene, rolling dice, working my way through to the end of the scene or chapter, then going back and taking a more creative writing approach to flush out the story. Kind of like rolling dice to make decisions, then using those decisions to write the story of the character. I feel like I'm trying to get it perfect on my first draft instead of just getting it out on paper.
Chris Campbell That's exactly how I've been doing this! I use Miso RPG for a very broad rule set, just to say I have rules mostly. I'll try to post up my first Actual Play in the next couple of days...
ReplyDeleteI was feeling like I wasn't actually letting the rules for Options take the story to different places, until I realized I had this story framework in my head already. Then I just went with it, making Option choices whenever it felt right. So far, the two plays I've got going are reading back quite well!
I like adding random images at the start of a scene to help spark the imagination. Music can help if each chapter has a 'theme song.' For chapter transitions, unless you're ending on a cliff-hanger, it's down time for the (game) logistics and travel parts of a setting.
ReplyDeleteLIke any other creative endeavour, sometines it just doesn't happen when you want it to. Accept that, and it seems less overwhelming when it happens.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it helps to try doing something else. Whatever chore you've been putting off is an especially good choice; nothing inspires gaming so much as having something one ought to be doing instead.
Or if you're desperate, there are lots of gaming-prep activities to do. I'm especially fond of Traveller for this, as character gen is like a mini game, and you can never have too many NPCs lying around. Also subector or extended system generation, designing ships, etc. And somtimes one of these turns right into the starting adventure idea you've been hoping for.
Chris Campbell
ReplyDeleteI've discovered that adhering to a stricter story structure has helped get around the type of meandering, instinctive, directorial cues that would often have sessions lose steam before completion.
It's the realization that the story methods absorbed by osmosis from books/TV/Movies/RPG is no substitute for taking a step back and looking at the actual structure/methods of how stories have been constructed for 100s and 1000s of years (even emergent solo-rpg stories...).
It's akin to a novice cook being handed a recipe that allows for customization instead of just being placed in the middle of a kitchen full of ingredients with no instructions. The former will have a complete meal in short order, the latter MIGHT create something edible by accident and eventually...
Back to my main point: sticking to a structure/outline/procedural method can decrease the amount of "What'st next?" questions you have.
At it's most basic, a Google image search for "Story Structure", "Plot Diagram" or "Harmon circle" will provide insight on scene progression.
Omari Brooks If you're interested, I've "solofied" a few different structures (traditional three Act, beat sheet, time-based, and 1 hr tv show) in light rpg form!
ReplyDeleteStructure is kind of an interest of mine; I find my most enjoyable games use one.
I've been experimenting with more subtle "pushes" lately, though.
exposit.github.io - superlite
This happens to me from time to time. I second what Gerard Nerval wrote: sometimes I have time, but the time is not right. It's ok really.
ReplyDelete