Psychological Role-playing

[Jack Spencer Jr]

There's much more narrative power given to the gm, sure, so what ? It's part of the game. The point is not to co-create a story, it's to experience something trough a persona.

What I enjoy when playing for immersion is trying to pretend to *be* another, and experience the world through his eyes. The major reward is being able to change my point of view, trying to comprehand another person. It may never serve in RL, but hey, if it was fun to roleplay ...

OK, I'm going to say something you probably will not believe but that's okay so long as you believe that I believe it because it's the heart of my gripe about immersive play.

It is possible to, as you've said, to *be* another and experience the world through his eyes without giving up any narrative power. I could cite Stephen King's On Writing (there must be other books by other authors, but so far I've only read this one) but to heck with that, I've done this myself. I once wrote a story and while writing I was entirely within the head of the main character. I was my character yet at the same time I was the author of the story and I was doing some rather terrible things to this person. The imagination is a rather amazing thing and it has many levels, it seems. So I have no problem with Immersion, my problem lies with immersion to the exclusion of anything else.

This is because, I suppose, that not matter how deeply you achiee this sense of being another, you are still yourself sitting at the table with your friends and dice. Even the most mentally unglued, Role-Playing Is Dangerous(tm) player with between lengthy in-character solioquies say "please pass the chips." Even the most perfect Immersion is imperfect is what I'm saying.

Also since the GM has all of the narrative power, too much rests on his shoulders, IMO. What may be interesting to the GM may not be interesting to the players so we're back at the Magical Mystery Tour. Worse, the GM may set up events that for one reason or another the players do not take.

It's sort of like this:

As I go through my day, I tend to crack jokes too much. I also feed other people lines like I live in a sitcom (speaking of mentally unglued). These lines I feed are designed to get a response from people that I would then finish off with a punchline. Problem is, I rarely get the necessary response. It may be because the people around me hae recognized this behavior and hae decided to stop enabling but mostly I think it's because the expected response was not what they would normally say, so my planning was for naught. Worse, I'm sitting on a punchline for the rest of the day. That burns, let me tell you.

In conclusion, I believe that Immersion is possible een with narrative power and to gie all of the power to the GM is putting all of your narrative eggs in one basket.

I don't mean to be down on another person's preferred style of play. There is nothing wrong with it. There is also nothing wrong with digging out a stump when clearing a field. In the end the stump is gone. But you could also just stick a couple sticks of dynamite under it and get rid of the stump much easier.

Maybe that analogy really isn't applicable, but that's my take on it.

[Fabrice G.]

Hi Jack,

with that precision:

So I have no problem with Immersion, my problem lies with immersion to the exclusion of anything else.

and this one:

So I have no problem with Immersion, my problem lies with immersion to the exclusion of anything else.

Well, I think that we basically agree then. I surely colored your word. I really thougth you were condamnig Immersion as a style of play. My bad.

Of course *total* imersion (eating, going to the bathroom,etc.) will only bring something boring. What I wanted to tell is that scène framing is just as valid in an Immersive game. It's just that when you're "on screen"  you mainly act through your character psyche and on IC informations.

Again, sorry to have jumped on you.

Take care,

Fabrice.

[Jack Spencer Jr]

Of course *total* imersion (eating, going to the bathroom,etc.) will only bring something boring.

I've been playing the Real Life RPG lately. I need to dump some points into my ass-wiping skill so I don't get shit on my hands anymore.

(THis is a joke, but thinking about it now this would be a nifty joke RPG but maybe the work necessary would be too much for what you'd get)

Again, sorry to have jumped on you.

No prob. I'm probably the last one to complain, really.