Abused Player Syndrome II (split)

[RaconteurX]

Apologies to one and all, being still a relative newcomer, but it seems to me that the aforementioned SEAL player is nothing more than the end product of extreme Gamist play. Labelling players as "abused" is a grave disservice, in my opinion, as it implies that their previous roleplaying experiences are invalid just because they have not evolved into the so-called "more grown-up" styles of Simulationism and Narrativism.

That the SEAL player's past experiences have conditioned him to respond in such a limited fashion can be seen as regrettable but, like any form of psychological conditioning, it can be overcome with time and patience. My experiences coaxing similar sorts of players into more story-oriented and player-driven forms of play have almost universally been successful. The key in such situations, as with any relationship, is to establish trust. Trust is the glue that binds functional relationships together.

I certain do not deny that gamemasters sometimes abuse their players' trust, and occasionally that abuse is intentional. However, as Ron pointed out, this might be more a failing of the Social Contract than any inherent malice on the part of specific individuals. Let's also keep in mind that any abusive person may him- or herself be the victim of abuse and use their role as gamemaster to negatively empower themselves. People do not exist in a vacuum.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

The above post was split from the Abused player syndrome thread.

Further discussion is welcome in this thread.

Michael, please take a minute to review the Forge policies in the sticky at the top of the Site Discussion forum. If you want to pick up an older discussion, the thing to do is to start a new thread, including a link to the old one. No harm no foul at this point, but keep it in mind for the future.

Best,
Ron

[hyphz]

Apologies to one and all, being still a relative newcomer, but it seems to me that the aforementioned SEAL player is nothing more than the end product of extreme Gamist play. Labelling players as "abused" is a grave disservice, in my opinion, as it implies that their previous roleplaying experiences are invalid just because they have not evolved into the so-called "more grown-up" styles of Simulationism and Narrativism.

Not quite.

Gamist play is fine and no problem, if it's done consistently.

Often it isn't.  This creates abuse.  Such as the PCs who, though supposedly the heroes, are always dancing to the villain's tune.