Displacement

[Ron Edwards]

Back to displacement we go, then. (Another thread about Dead-death and caring and all that would be spunky, unless everyone is satisfied with how it stands.)

I wrote about this on GO a long time ago. I set up a conceptual spectrum, as follows. On one end you are playing a fictional version of "yourself," much as in Villains & Vigilantes or Stuperpowers. You could even go further, extending the end past where it's been taken previously, and make up "yourself" with no frills and have that be the character. In fact, I recall from a GURPS a.p.a. in the 80s that people would introduce themselves with a personal writeup based on 100 points.

On the other end, you are playing a one-step-removed, double-layer character, as in Morpheus, Hong Kong Action Theater, the WEG Tales from the Crypt, or Extreme Vengeance. In these games, Bob is the player, some character or abstract persona is what he plays from session to session, and Bartholemew is a character who happens to be the expression of that persona in a given instance. To clarify, in Morpheus, my "character" is hooked to a VR tank, hallucinating these wild adventures with his character, who might be a cartoony barbarian type. I, Ron, am playing this guy playing his character, and the "intermediate" doesn't even have a name; I don't care much about him, but am having a blast playing Dildo the Barbarian.

Most role-playing games, of course, fall in between these two ends of the spectrum, in that the character is "one layer" from the player, as well as being a different person (fictional entity). I suggest that this spectrum is heavily graded, rather than being composed of discrete points or categories.

Whew. OK, before moving onto consequences, meanings, and applications of the spectrum, any thoughts about it? Rabid disagreements? Effusive praise?

Best,
Ron

[Mike Holmes]

To extend the spectrum, Scott Knipe's Human Wreckage was to have the following layers: Player, Film Director, Film Director's favorite Lead Actor, and the Role of the Lead.

Whew! Talk about layers.

Mike