[PTA] long scences, fan mail, and learning to set stakes

[Anna B]

So we ran the second episode of <url=http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=18266.0> And a Place to Fly Her</url> last night. We where all kind of tried so the game wasn't as high energy as the pilot. PTA doesn't really do low key well, but we really wanted to play, because things had been getting in the way and we didn't want the game to die.

I'm not going to write about everything that happen, though Elliot is welcome to if he wants. (His memory is better than mine anyways.)

So we had one really long scene with no conflict that filled in the backstory a lot. Our character and a NPC were being questioned by psych detective. There was cute bit in the beginning were we were asked to lie, my character who has "falsely dishonored" as her issue didn't want to. The detective said it was diagnostic. The character said "i don't respect your authority in this matter"  which was a lie. (I got fan mail).

That wasn't the only long scene. How long are most scenes anyways? It seems like if you can long give one fan mail per scene that having lots of shorter scenes is more rewarded by the rules.

Also we aren't that great at setting the stakes. In last games "Next Time On..." I had shown use in front of the embassy as it went boom.  So we got to the point where we were in the embassy and it was about to blow. So we are try to set stakes. We know that will all get out OK, so we have to figure something out. I wanted  to rescue the detective, C figured out that he wants to save the computer files, but L was totally stuck and ended up not choosing a stake. On the whole I felt the scene could have been more dramatic, but I'm not sure how.

[Supplanter]

In our first PTA session our scenes tended to drag and wander a little bit. So for our second session we:

1. Kept the book open to the page about the four-act structure.

2. Declared we wanted to finish the episode that night.

3. Divided the realtime available by the number of acts.

4. Kept an eye on our watches to make sure we were on schedule.

5. Paid very careful attention to the Agenda and Location parts of the scene-framing mechanics.

Things went much more briskly and we met our goal of wrapping up the episode. We did have one scene where we all agreed there was no obvious conflict and no point trying to kludge one up - when we felt its Agenda was achieved we cut it.

If you do think things are dragging, reconsider how you're setting Agenda and Location. IOW, have a very specific idea of what every scene is for and start the scene in a moment of ripeness for achieving that. If the agenda requires that the protagonist be in the Manor, frex, don't set the scene (in most cases) so the protagonist has to play out *getting* to the Manor. Start her in the Manor.

Keep the agenda as specific and purposive as seems reasonable: "I want to talk to the Lady of the House" isn't as effective as "I want to intimidate the Lady of the House" or "I want to get on the Lady of the House's good side."

IMHO, there *is* a role for the PTA Director to monitor how pointfully a scene is addressing its declared agenda.

Other people will have better advice on scene-framing than I do, but the one thing that worked for us in PTA specifically was, "Always set the stakes so that, whatever happens, you get closer to the end of the episode than you were before." Frex, in our pilot for The Replacements, Owen got into a conflict over getting into the Manor house. I forget the specifics but the stakes were more or less that if he won, he'd be in the Manor house under his own power, a free man with the trust of the owners. If he lost, he'd get in, but as their prisoner. Either outcome advanced the action. That was a plot-development scene. For a scene focused on character development, you'd just want to make sure the stakes were such that, however it came out, you knew more about the protagonist than you did before the scene started.

Best,


Jim

[REkz]

Supplanter & Anna B,

Long scenes?  How many of those do you see on TV with no conflict?
Yawwwwn!!!
For me, that's when I'm changing the channel!    :)
Actually, I wouldn't nec change it, I might just turn that boob tube off.

**DON'T DO LONG SCENES, but if you HAVE TO (which you DON'T!), there's GOTTA be conflict! **

If I (as producer) do a scene w/no conflict, it's going to be under a minute.
I'm losing my audience, plus all the advertisers!!!
How long is your show (on TV)?  That could be a good guide. 
The PTA Game that we run seems like an hour-long show, more or less.

If you have many quick scenes, there will be more fanmail available.
I like the fanmail chips flying loosely across the table.

One role of Producer is to be the primary conflict discoverer,
the primary "let's get it goin' people" energizer, and the first to say "Cut!"

In my game, I'm sometimes TOO QUICK to cut the scene.
But I have noticed that whoever gets the last quip or comment in
AFTER things have wound down enough for me to say "NEXT SCENE!"
is probably just wasting time or trying too hard.

KEEP IT MOVING

Here's a the way to do it  -->
build up the scenes, wait for the conflict to emerge,
have who-ever spots it first call for the conflict,
Producer or Players should say clearly each party's stakes in the conflict,
resolve the conflict, play it all out, and then
"CUT"  -- go to the next scene.

**DON'T PLAY THE DULL BITS, and DON'T WASTE TIME. **

Last bit --> I see your character's refusing to lie during a lie detector test is conflict.
I wouldn't spend that much budget as a producer, but ... a conflict is a conflict.

Short scene = 1-2 minutes.
Medium (Avg) scene = 5-7 minutes
Long scene = 10 minutes +

* Dialogue & action.  Sometimes game mechanics take a minute or two...

[Matt Wilson]

What REkz says is pretty good. Also, this:

So we had one really long scene with no conflict that filled in the backstory a lot. Our character and a NPC were being questioned by psych detective. There was cute bit in the beginning were we were asked to lie, my character who has "falsely dishonored" as her issue didn't want to.

... makes it sound like there most certainly is a conflict. I mean, you're feeling the motivation for your protagonist's actions, coming right out of the issue. What's at stake here? The issue itself. Maybe something like "can she use this situation to regain some honor?

"Does she lie or not?" Less interesting.