FAQ: a few questions

[kwill]

as promised, at last, a bunch of questions...

FAQs generally seem to serve two purposes
-) outline the ideas behind a site/newsgroup/program/whatever
-) genuinely answer frequently asked questions

some of these questions are definitely aligned within the first purpose ("What is the Forge?", "What is GNS?"), while others are questions that I have seen asked/brought up a lot ("Why is there such a focus on Narrativism?") -- perhaps these two scopes of question should be dealt with seperately, or identified as being seperate
...here I have identified the latter type with emphasis

okay, I lie, some of the italics are questions that I think SHOULD be frequently asked, but aren't :smile:
otherwise, they are questions that have been brought up before and that I don't need to be gone over again :smile:

an additional note: perhaps _as well as_ a FAQ (detailed Q&A), a  glossary (brief definitions) would be appropriate

anyway, on with the show...
(more comments and finish-up below)

==

THE FORGE

What are the goals of the Forge?

What is indie
- gaming?
- publishing?

(incorporate "punk" ethic, whatever /that/ is)

Who is
- Clinton R Nixon?
- Ron Edwards?

What is their function on the site?

(editorial? control? etc; e p healy?)

What is the history of the site?

What is the review policy?

Discussion

What are the models discussed on the Forge?
- Gamist/Narrativist/Simulationist
- Drama/Fortune/Karma
- Actor/Author/Director Stance
- In-Character/Out-of-Character Modes
- Effectiveness/Resource/Metagame

(overview, how do they relate, boxes within boxes, toolbox)

What about other models?
- Why so many threes?

GNS goals

What are the goals of the GNS model?

What is Gamism?
- Narrativism?
- Simulationism?

Why is there such a focus on Narrativism on the Forge?
- What are the elements of Narrativism?
-- players as protagonists
-- Premise

What are the distinctions between Gamism, Narrativism & Simulationism?
- Examples

Why does Simulationism (not) exist?

How is Feng Shui simulationist?

DFK mechanics

What are Drama mechanics?
- Fortune?
- Karma?

Isn't Drama simply Freeform?

What is Fortune-in-the-Middle?

AAD stances

What is Actor stance?
- Author?
- Director?

What distinguishes Author and Director?

What about Audience stance?
- Immersion?

IC & OOC modes

What is In-Character mode?
- Out-of-Character?

Are modes and stances the same, or at least similar?

How about referring to your character in the first person versus in the third person?

ERM character components

What is Effectiveness?
- Resource?
- Metagame?

What is Game Balance?

What about Screen Time?

Bringing it all together

Why does System Matter?
- include pointer to essay

Where should I begin in designing a game?
- campaign?
- adventure?

What are the elements of a game?
- Colour
- Setting
- System
- Premise [Narrativist only?]
- (the other bits I forgot!)

Actual Play

How do I know if I have a Dysfunctional Gaming Group?
- etc

The Forge Forums

What is Site Discussion?
- Indie Game Design?
- GNS Model Discussion?
- RPG Theory?
- Publishing?
- Actual Play?
- Review Discussion?

Can I advertise in the forums?

How do I get my own forum for my game/company/website?

So what are we going to talk about?
- Can I disagree?

==

whoop, there it is...

-) still to distinguish vocab... Game, versus System, versus Game Session
-) System and Setting are the traditional elements of a Game, do they need to be analysed (have they already been?)
-) Niche Protection (just saw it in RPG Theory >> Game Balance)

finally, I think that experiences from and descriptions of various systems would benefit the FAQ; I'm basically thinking of Ron's reviews where he brings in examples from different systems and games, usually sufficient that even if you haven't played a game yourself, you get the idea

(other good examples seem to be comics, movies and novels -- well, duh)

(by now you may have realised I see the FAQ as a detailed and comprehensive thing, rather than a quick-reference thing)

by the way, before we get round to answering the questions I think it's important that we make sure the right questions are being asked, and that the structure is intelligent, or at least vaguely coherent

fire at will (poor will)

[Mike Holmes]

Well structured. I agree that the FAQ would do well to be formatted like this or similarly. As it is right now, it seems more of a statement of facts than responses to the sorts of questions newcommers are likely to have.

Mike

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

I have decided a few things about the new FAQ. Some of David's suggestions have been anticipated; others have been considered and put aside.

It's going to be a while, but it will be available before the end of the year.

Best,
Ron