GNS / Big Model Open House

[benlehman]

Hi.

I know that a fair share of RPG theory interested folks read this blog.

I'd like to test my own understanding of GNS / Big Model.

So:

I will answer any questions about the Big Model or GNS that you have, if you ask them in response to this post or in a private e-mail to me.

It would help if you would first read the essays here and here. These other ones won't hurt. Just the top part of the last two is fine.


a few ground rules:

1) I'm going to try to explain a theoretical model to you. I don't want to argue whether it is right or wrong. You can come to your own conclusions about that. If you post, I will assume that you are trying to understand the model, no more, no less.

1a) If you want to destroy the model, may I suggest that understanding it is a good first step?

1b) So no "that's stupid," stupid though it may be. "That doesn't make sense, please explain it a different way" is fine.

2) I will not diagnose GNS goals of games I've never played. I will not discuss any theory applying to LARPs, because they are complicated. I will not discuss books, movies, plays, improv theatre, ballet, or any other artform in the context of GNS, because doing so is stupid. I will discuss games which I have played, as examples, but pretty much only at the request of the GM who ran said game.

2a) If you ask about the GNS of your game, do not take a diagnosis that isn't what you want it to be to be an insult. It isn't.

3) I may add ground rules as things progress.

Comments

[benlehman.livejournal.com]

If I am really torn, because I cannot rationalize my character far enough from their current direction to keep the game fun for other people, I may ask the GM for help giving me an impetus to change my character's direction.

In practice, how often do you do this? Just curious.

yrs--
--Ben

[arianhwyvar.livejournal.com]

I can't think of a time when I've done it to save the fun of other people, though I can think of a few times I've asked for help to keep the game fun for myself when I've really got my character into an unpleasant rut. Offhand I can think of 2 or 3 times I've mentioned to a GM that I could use some trigger to change to get out of a rut; there have almost certainly been more. I don't tend to demand it, though, and often I manage to find something else to make into my trigger that wasn't deliberately handed to me by the GM. I just feel better about it the less I have to do what feels like a dubious reach.