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Inactive Forums => Scattershot => Topic started by: Le Joueur on December 28, 2001, 01:45:00 AM

Title: Part II: Whence go the Mechanics
Post by: Le Joueur on December 28, 2001, 01:45:00 AM
January 2nd, 2002; Happy New Year! -

At the behest of my friends here on the Forge, I will present Scattershot at the point I have it.  Even though this is a work-in-progress and much of the terminology is in a state of flux, I am not trying to present a diary of the progress.  Expect the lead component of this thread to undergo changes as Scattershot does.  This edition was originally put together on Thursday, December 27th, 2001.  This series of articles will detail strictly the mechanics of Scattershot, articles relating to the techniques of 'how to play' will have to wait until I have more of them centralized and organized.  The third major component of the game, the setting and genre material is will be addressed once I get a new batch of playtesters.

One deliberate feature of Scattershot has to do with how we handle the complexity of the mechanics.  Instead of a long catalog of 'optional' rules, we divided the mechanics into three stages of complexity.

Basic

formalization of intuitive play (http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1073&forum=2&2), I should explain how we look at the actual 'flow of play' formally.  One thing to remember, while this is a formal breakdown, nobody is perfect (neither yours truly, nor people playing the games) and so this is not a lot more than an approximation.  Still, from here all Scattershot springs.

Respect the Speaker

the earlier installment (http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1073&forum=2&2), play bounces from person to person in no particular order.  I think this way of looking at play means play is only occurring with the person speaking.  Normally there is only one Speaker at any time, but there are a couple of exceptions I can think of; dialogue and question & answer (an interview style of setting description is an example of this).  When this aspect of gaming breaks down, it's cacophony; the unconscious formalization in natural response to this is one of the central formations of gaming.[/list:u]The Scenic View

Proprietor so that at times, a player can do it as well.  This is because there are many occasions that the person most familiar with the setting and circumstance may be someone other than the gamemaster (for example, inside the superheroes' base).[/list:u]When Can I Catch a Break?

pacing) are the Breakpoints.  Changing tone, Switching 'Densities' (or in Scattershot, changing the Stage of the rules), or any other shifts that occur when there aren’t any kinds of natural (and unfortunately mostly unconscious) Breakpoints, always seems to throw a wrench into the 'flow of play.'  Scattershot goes to some degree talking about the types and uses of Breakpoints (though I am not going to go into too much detail here, because this article is to set up for the mechanics).

The beginnings and endings of scenes are principal Breakpoints (but that doesn't mean to disclude the huge number of other intuitive Breakpoints).  One way that a group can easily mishandle a scene is by choosing its parameters badly.  Start too soon before the 'meat' of the scene and you risk losing the participants' interest before the 'entree.'  End too long after the 'action' and you watch a scene's impact slowly bleed to death.  Scattershot's techniques speak plainly about starting a scene so close to the 'meat' that the start sheds blood.  These techniques also talk about tying off the endings with tourniquet intensity when they have served their purpose.  (It goes hand in hand with most of our advice about pacing and choosing the appropriate stage of mechanics to carry the game forward at the most satisfying rate.)[/list:u]What was the Point, Again?

sharing play (http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=1073&forum=2&2).  There are a couple of prime issues that need to be addressed, if I am formalizing things.  The first (and possibly foremost) is commitment; commitment to atmosphere, commitment to plot-arch (as in how a noir story just 'goes,' not as in preplanned conclusions), commitment to ambience, and so on, it's all about 'being on the same page.'  If these things are not a shared commitment, it is only a matter of time before things break down.  People almost always think about 'what they get' out of sharing without realizing the importance of 'what they give.'

Another point of sharing we suggest in Scattershot is keeping everyone involved; whether by creating riveting play for those whose characters aren't present, or having those 'uninvolved' get drafted into short-term, supporting, non-player character roles, sharing the game means sharing in as much as possible.  A little conspiracy now and then is good, so is a little mystery, but when the commitment is shared as above, you should expect participants to only use 'player knowledge' as a role-playing game aid.  If you suspect cheating, you are not sharing; you are 'hording.'  (Mystery good; secrecy bad.)[/list:u]One of the reasons I put all these clusters together is because they will be referred to frequently at many subsequent levels.  Unlike many games I have read or played, I think it is important to cover the implications of using basic mechanics during mechanical play of a event not including combat.  (This means discussing each new layer of Scattershot's mechanics in terms of how each of these clusters apply.)  I think it is important to consider where and when you expect to use a game's mechanics in order to write the mechanics that are necessary to support those situations and I think so is the shared commitment to using them that way.

Next up the nuts and bolts.

Fang Langford

¹ What we frequently, incorrectly call denouement.
Title: Part II: Whence go the Mechanics
Post by: Le Joueur on January 01, 2002, 01:33:00 AM
Sorry about this, but I just found one of the missing pages of my notes.  The whole section on formalization of 'flow of play' comes from there and is new.

Hope you like it.

Fang Langford
Title: Part II: Whence go the Mechanics
Post by: joshua neff on January 02, 2002, 10:33:00 AM
Fang--

That's some good stuff there, especially the stuff about taking breaks & respecting the speaker. That's stuff that should be mentioned in RPGs & isn't. As Ron said, "solid".
Title: Part II: Whence go the Mechanics
Post by: Le Joueur on January 02, 2002, 12:46:00 PM
Quotejoshua neff wrote:

That's some good stuff there, especially the stuff about taking breaks & respecting the speaker. That's stuff that should be mentioned in RPGs & isn't. As Ron said, "solid".
Thank you, that's kinda what I have been thinking for some time.  I feel it's especially important for people who are new to the hobby.

I am curious what you mean about "taking breaks."  I can see that the section title choice might be a little too confusing and I will change it soon.  Can you tell me if you thought I was advising actually stopping play at any of these points?  Perhaps using the term, 'breakpoint' is itself confusing.  Can you suggest any alternatives if you agree?

Fang Langford
Title: Part II: Whence go the Mechanics
Post by: joshua neff on January 02, 2002, 12:53:00 PM
You know, I did think that. But I don't know why, because that's not really what I meant. I mean, what I liked was the whole idea of "breakpoints" as you described them. But somehow between reading it, thinking about it, & then writing my post, it got mutated in my brain as "taking breaks". Maybe a different name is needed. (Or more ginko for my brain.)

That being said, I do think that one of the most neglected things in RPG rulebooks is how to run a single session--particularly the structure of the session, including when & why to take breaks from the game. Sorcerer & Sword has some good stuff about structuring both the narrative as a whole series of sessions & the individual sessions themselves, which has really helped me focus on what I'm trying to do with my next game (which is, oddly enough, Sorcerer, sans swords). But I'm also thinking about the thread in Actual Play in which we all talked about when to take breaks from the game, & how to work that into the structure of the session. I think that's good stuff for people just getting into RPGs to think about.