Previous Topics

3/3/2004 John Kim: System for a Star Trek Game?
After good responses to Chris' Setting seeks System thread, I thought I'd pose my own dilemma. So I am planning a new campaign which will be based on…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, AnyaTheBlue, RaconteurX, Valamir, komradebob, newsalor, Nuadha, Doctor Xero, Mike Holmes, clehrich, lumpley, jrs, Alex Johnson, cruciel, erithromycin.

2/13/2004 John Kim: Gender/Racial/Other Bias in RPG Texts
[quote="Librisia"]I'll be posting revised statements regarding my hypothesis about the male dominance in rpgs tomorrow or the day after. As veterans of the Forge's culture, can you please advise whether…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Doctor Xero, Bankuei, clehrich, greyorm, Dev, Ron Edwards, cruciel, gobi, S'mon, contracycle, M. J. Young, Green, Thuringwaethiel, Librisia.

2/12/2004 John Kim: What is traditional play really?
So it seems to me that a lot of the current definition discussions are getting lost in somewhat abstract consideration of the definitions. GNS Simulationism is defined abstractly as "exploration…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Emily Care, cruciel, coxcomb, Valamir.

2/10/2004 John Kim: James Bond Campaign Starting
OK, So this past Saturday I ran a session of Victory Games' James Bond 007. This is with the same group with whom I'd been playing "Lord of the Rings".…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, clehrich, Doctor Xero.

1/25/2004 John Kim: Rough Draft Essay on Threefold Simulationism
OK, So I have this essay now on Threefold Simulationism (which is IMO distinct from GNS Simulationism). So I wrote this essay delving into the topic. At first I thought…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Umberhulk, Ron Edwards, cruciel, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, ADGBoss, clehrich, Silmenume.

1/17/2004 John Kim: Spirit Tests in Vinland
OK, I just completed the session summary for my last Vinland game, and I thought it was a particularly interesting case. So this session members of the Brygjafael clan were…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, lumpley, clehrich, Sigurth.

1/10/2004 John Kim: What is the Dream?
OK, so Ian and Ron have suggested a separate thread to discuss the following point which I made in The Dream vs Story Now!: As far as…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Ron Edwards, cruciel, Ian Charvill, Mark Johnson, Jack Spencer Jr, greyorm, pete_darby, M. J. Young, Christopher Kubasik, Gordon C. Landis, contracycle, Valamir, Blankshield, Silmenume.

1/5/2004 John Kim: Writing Style, Detail, and Simulationism
The following are comments from the Bad Roleplaying? I blame Tolkien thread. I think the more general question which comes out of it is important, though. most…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Matt Wilson, Ben Lehman, lumpley, Gordon C. Landis, M. J. Young, contracycle, pete_darby, Valamir, cruciel, C. Edwards, Ian Charvill, Emily Care, Paul Czege, Mike Holmes.

12/26/2003 John Kim: Simulationism Revisited
OK, After more-or-less fence-sitting for a while, I am starting to form my own opinions on GNS as a whole. I will hold off on comments on Narrativism for Ron's…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, M. J. Young, Caynreth, Silmenume, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis, lumpley, Paul Czege, cruciel, Ian Charvill.

12/21/2003 John Kim: Simulationist Storytelling Systems?
So something seems to be missing for me in the picture of how games are classified GNS-wise. Traditional cause-to-effect mechanics tend to be called simulationist, but I think that simulationist…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Valamir, Mike Holmes, Ian Charvill, xiombarg, Ron Edwards.

12/6/2003 John Kim: Anti-my-guy Syndrome
[quote="xiombarg"] One essay is particularly notable: "But I Vas Chust Follwink Mein Character Concept!" by Greg Stolze. In it, Greg posits the "Gamer Nuremburg Defense", characterized by the cry: "Not…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Valamir, Jack Spencer Jr, Christopher Kubasik, M. J. Young, RaconteurX, greyorm, epweissengruber, xiombarg, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, pete_darby, Gordon C. Landis, eyebeams, contracycle.

11/27/2003 John Kim: Open Play for the Soul
[quote="Paganini"] Narrativism is about setting up a specific kind of choice for the characters to face. Call them urgent choices. For one reason or another, an urgent choice can't just…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Ian Charvill, Christopher Kubasik, greyorm, Valamir, Mike Holmes.

11/6/2003 John Kim: Mission Selection and Player Authorship
OK, I'm starting a new thread on this, because I think it doesn't really have to do with observations of new gamers. I'm discussing a style which Walt Freitag describes…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, jdagna, Walt Freitag, Jeph, Noon.

11/2/2003 John Kim: Story and Narrative Paradigms in RPGs
I have just finished a fairly in-depth essay about the relation of story in static narratives (i.e. books and film) versus story in RPGs. It's a sort of formalist approach…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Ben Lehman, RaconteurX, Marco, Emily Care, Mike Holmes, fusangite, Ron Edwards, peejay.

10/20/2003 John Kim: Statistics for Profiling, Fall 2003
Hi, Once again I have collected together the statistics of the profiling thread, and I have posted it to my local Forge page. I'm sort of curious about…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, jdagna, Paul Czege, Emily Care, AnyaTheBlue, Ben Lehman, jrients, John Harper, Ron Edwards, Mike Holmes, Jeph, Jonathan Walton, Lxndr, arxhon.

9/23/2003 John Kim: Front-loaded relationship-driven Nar/Sim overlap
OK, the subject here is Ben Lehman's description of a common style of his games, detailed more in this thread. The key point about this style is that…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Mike Holmes, AnyaTheBlue, Ron Edwards, jdagna, Ben Lehman, Gordon C. Landis, Marco, GreatWolf, Lxndr, M. J. Young.

9/17/2003 John Kim: Immersion and Story
This is a reply to Mike Holmes, split from another take on "the character doesn't exist". Since this isn't talking about whether characters exist (an argument which has…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, David Chunn, gentrification, RaconteurX, Ron Edwards, contracycle, Jack Spencer Jr, Mike Holmes.

8/15/2003 John Kim: Handling Detail and What it Means
In the thread on escalation, Gordon thought that the stuff on detail escalation should be split into a separate thread. So here it is... Going back to the comment that…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Alan, Jack Spencer Jr, Windthin, M. J. Young, Mike Holmes, Gordon C. Landis.

8/4/2003 John Kim: Multiple Reality Roleplaying
OK, I am starting a separate thread on this topic, because it seems like an interesting approach for a game. My idea is to have a game where the intent…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Ben Lehman, Julian Kelsey, contracycle, Lxndr, ejh, Walt Freitag, Mike Holmes, M. J. Young, Rob Donoghue.

8/1/2003 John Kim: Origin of the Threefold
Hi, This isn't exactly a GNS topic, but it seemed related enough that I thought I should put it here. I've added a new section to my webpage on the…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Ron Edwards.

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Subsequent Topics

3/24/2004 John Kim: Stats for Epic Heroes
OK, I am splitting out a particular subtopic from "Epic" and "Saga" roleplaying. Ralph/Valamir had brought up early on the point about how character stats are handled. From…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, M. J. Young, Shreyas Sampat, Caldis, orbsmatt, Rexfelis, Valamir, xiombarg, Ian Charvill, Walt Freitag, talysman, Ben Lehman, cruciel.

4/8/2004 John Kim: Immersive Story Essay
So I have posted my essay from the "Beyond Role and Play" book up on my website, along with book information. So first of all, here is the…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, contracycle, Alan, Eero Tuovinen, Mike Holmes, clehrich, RDU Neil, Jack Spencer Jr, Russell Impagliazzo, matthijs, Daredevil, Storn, Revontuli, Noon.

4/16/2004 John Kim: Conan Test Run
OK, so I decided to run some games at KublaCon, and ended up deciding on a HERO System Star Trek game and a Conan RPG game. (I feel…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, StalkingBlue, Ron Edwards, Caldis, Eszed, Henri, Bifi, hawklord2112, S'mon, Brand_Robins, Bankuei.

5/8/2004 John Kim: New RPG Theory Glossary
OK, so a few weeks ago in this thread, Ron wrote: Status Report: the first draft is in Clinton's hands, and he is PDFing it in…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Andrew Martin, George Moralidis, cruciel, Trevis Martin.

5/9/2004 John Kim: Forgeites at KublaCon '04 in SF Peninsula
So who is attending KublaCon? It will be May 28-31 in Burlingame on the SF Peninsula. I'll be there and running two events. Neither of them will be Indie RPGs,…
In Conventions
Participants: John Kim, Michael Hopcroft.

5/12/2004 John Kim: Opening Up Ideas
This is split off of Forge Hubris, Part II, as a number of people seemed concerned that constructive discussion should be separated from there. 1)…
In Site Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Mike Holmes, ethan_greer, Hunter Logan, A.Neill, M. J. Young.

6/17/2004 John Kim: Conan Test Run Results
OK, so I ran the Conan RPG one-shot at KublaCon a few weeks ago and thought I would report on it. I had an earlier thread about it where I…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, Paka, Mike Holmes, Henri.

6/18/2004 John Kim: Virtuality and Ouija Boards
OK, so Ben suggested the term "Virtuality" as a synonym for RGFA Simulationism in his Subtyping Sim thread -- which seems to me like a fair moniker. I'd…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, C. Edwards, Valamir, Doctor Xero, Ron Edwards, Ben Lehman.

6/30/2004 John Kim: Water-Uphill-World: Virtuality Examined
OK, at Vincent (aka lumpley's) request, I am splitting off from "Sacrificing Character Integrity" - a Rant. In it, Vincent (aka lumpley) and Matt had some questions about…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, lumpley, Ben Lehman, Marco, Caldis, Matt Snyder, clehrich, Mike Holmes, Rob Carriere.

8/26/2004 John Kim: More on 3D Model
OK, I want to talk more on Mike's 3D model, which I think is quite good. To review the basic formulation he made: CD - Player Challenge goal with…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, Alan, clehrich, Marco, Tobias, Jack Aidley, ErrathofKosh, M. J. Young, Ron Edwards, Gordon C. Landis.

9/9/2004 John Kim: Terminology Problem: Drift
OK, I'd like to suggest a new term for changing the creative details and focus of a game. Here's the issue: Take games like "Pantheon", "Donjon", and "Great Ork Gods".…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, M. J. Young, Marco, Precious Villain, Ron Edwards, Noon, DannyK, Blankshield.

9/9/2004 John Kim: Newbie-friendly Indie Games
[quote="Matt Snyder"]Malcolm, I'm not sure who's claiming they don't need to do anything in designing a game to make it newbie friendly. I've seen the opposite approach in many, many…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, Matt Wilson, Jonathan Walton, Ben Lehman, Paul Czege, Noon, eyebeams, TonyLB, Valamir, timfire, joshua neff, Marco, A.Neill, pete_darby, ffilz, neelk, M. J. Young, Andrew Morris, Doctor Xero, Mike Holmes, eef, Rob Carriere, jerry, xiombarg.

9/27/2004 John Kim: [My Life With Master] Roszakabad
OK, I recently played the second and final session of a MLWM game. The Master was Dr. Charlus, French/German physician and natural philosopher. He runs a sanitorium in this remote…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, Ron Edwards, LordSmerf, Paul Czege, Valamir.

10/12/2004 John Kim: Medicinal Soap
So I played Soap for the first time a few weeks ago, with my friends Bill, Russell, and Liz. We decided on a show about a teaching hospital, where the…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim.

10/13/2004 John Kim: Mechanics as Symbol Sets (was Sim-Diceless thread search)
OK, so I'd like to start a thread about mechanics as symbol sets, this continued from my discussion with contracycle toward the end of Sim-Diceless thread search. Important reading…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, clehrich, contracycle, Sean, Ron Edwards, Walt Freitag.

10/20/2004 John Kim: Classifying By Social Function
OK, so I've been thinking about Ron's "celebration" definition for GNS Simulationism and Chris' analogy about anthropology in The Basis for Criticism. So here's my suggestion. It may…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, contracycle, Alan, Ron Edwards, Marco, ffilz, clehrich, WhiteRat, Landon Darkwood, pete_darby, Wormwood, Mike Holmes, Gelasma, Victor Gijsbers.

11/9/2004 John Kim: Moral Articulation and GNS
OK, this is split from Classifying by Social Function, as I thought this is an interesting topic -- but not really a part of generally classifying by social…
In GNS Model Discussion
Participants: John Kim, pete_darby, clehrich, Alan, Blankshield.

11/10/2004 John Kim: NxN PC Relation Chart
I thought I'd bring up a technique which I used for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer campaign. The principle for it is based on my thoughts in the essay, a…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, TonyLB, DannyK, contracycle.

12/2/2004 John Kim: Stats for Fall 2004 Profiling
So following what I did for prior years, I collected stats for the recent Fall 2004 profiling thread. You can see the results here: http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/theory/theforge/prof_fall2004.html And you can compare to…
In Actual Play
Participants: John Kim, abzu, Fabrice G., humis, Negilent, Michael S. Miller, Chris Goodwin, Ron Edwards, Matt Wilson.

12/4/2004 John Kim: Role-playing Adapted Worlds
This is a sub-thread off of A wild and an untamed thing - how literature refuses gaming. There have been related discussions On RPGs and Text and…
In RPG Theory
Participants: John Kim, GaryTP, Marco, clehrich, Noon, komradebob, Caldis, Christopher Kubasik, Cemendur, Chris Goodwin, M. J. Young, greedo1379, contracycle, GB Steve, Ron Edwards.

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