Subject:
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Re: Map Scale, Realms, etc.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.castle
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Date:
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Fri, 11 Feb 2000 20:09:34 GMT
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Viewed:
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1306 times
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In lugnet.castle, Lance Scott writes:
> In lugnet.castle, Jeff Johnston writes:
> >
> > But Castle World is not a game. There's no need for Play Balance. Just
> > like an author doesn't need 'play balance' in his books. We're creating a
> > 'shared world fantasy' here (like the _Wild Cards_ or _Thieves' World_
> > series), not running a roleplaying game.
>
> Ah Ha! At the most basic level, CW is a game. It's "Let's Pretend" which is
> the simplest game there is.
I disagree - unless you also want to count 'writing a novel' as a game of
Let's Pretend!
I think the two activities are very similar - perhaps even closely
related. After all, there are certainly 'shared world' settings that
evolved from roleplaying games. (The one I'm thinking of is _Wild Cards_,
which came from a game of Chaosium's _SuperWorld_ played by George R.R.
Martin and some others)
> There are rules to follow, but very few of them.
> This is not AD&D, GURPS, Hero System or any other "Let's Pretend" RPG, it is a
> consensual game being made up by the players as we go along with guidance from
> the UberGods.
I disagree. Although Pawel and Craig are certainly coordinating this
effort, I don't think they see themselves as the 'UberGods' or 'Game
Masters' of CastleWorld. In theory, we all have a say in what's going on.
So what are the differences between writing a novel and running a
role-playing game? Well, a role-playing game is internally focused. It's
purpose is to entertain the players. This is the same as you sitting at
home playing with your LEGOs. A lot of fun!
Writing a novel is externally focused - you're trying to entertain the
audience. The considerations are different in a lot of ways - having done
both game mastering and writing, I can say confidently that they are
*very* different. (And these differences are one of the reasons why
'gaming fiction' is often lousy compared to regular fiction)
Anyway, I see CW as 'writing a big novel witha bunchof co-authors'. And
so play balance doesn't need to enter into it - 'interesting story' does.
J
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Map Scale, Realms, etc.
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| (...) folk, (...) finding (...) your (...) Ah Ha! At the most basic level, CW is a game. It's "Let's Pretend" which is the simplest game there is. There are rules to follow, but very few of them. This is not AD&D, GURPS, Hero System or any other (...) (24 years ago, 11-Feb-00, to lugnet.castle)
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