I think I understand at least some of the possible ways to Explore the other elements of roleplay: Character, Setting, Situation, System; but Colour eludes me. Perhaps it's because I really don't get what color is exactly or maybe I just don't see how it could be prioritized over Exploring any of the other elements.

Any thoughts?

Hi Jack,

Here are some threads that pretty much nail the topic down, as far as I can tell:
Crayola role-play
Setting vs. Color
Rewarding Color

Best,
Ron

Jack Spencer Jr wrote: Perhaps it's because I really don't get what color is exactly or maybe I just don't see how it could be prioritized over Exploring any of the other elements.

Any thoughts?

Ron Edwards wrote: Hi Jack,

Whoops, try:
Setting vs. Color

Best,
Ron

Looking over those three threads, a few things jumped out at me:

• color conveys tone
• color may convey genre expectations
• color describes the other four elements


Taking that last bit, there can be color aspects to all four of the the other elements: in system, genre-congruent mechanics like the poker chips in deadlands; color for character are characteristic details that convey a sense of the character without adding anything to effectiveness or have to do with "working" system elements; the small details of setting that help make you "feel" like you are experiencing a certain period or setting (or genre) again, without having mechanical effect on characters; situation:... well, that stumps me.

I think what I'm getting at here is that they are details that have large psychological, but not necessarily mechanical effects. They affect our experience of the game. Good color-to-system elements can be seen as extremely valuable since system itself can be intimidating and off-putting. Adding color can help bridge the gap between in-game and mechanical elements, allowing participants to maintain engagement in areas that might otherwise it might be interupted.

And exploring color might require exploring it in terms of the other four.

Though color is often seen as something additional, or extraneous, look at the metaphor again--yes, you may have adequate information about an image from looking at the black and white line drawing of it, but when you add color....

--Emily Care

Thanks. The general impression I'm getting is that Color is a slippery little shit and tough to pin down,...sorta. I find myself agreeing with Fang in one of the linked threads that Color may be a catch-all term for things that are not one of the other Elements of Roleplaying.

The terms seems to be associated with things like Mood, Atmosphere and so on, although is not limited to this. Or so it seems to be implied.

One example of a Pure Color mechanic is taglines in Dying Earth.

One interesting feature is that Color is not limited to Actual Play, at least how I see actual play, at any rate. Things like the book's production in the first place. Art, layout, the physical book itself. How was it published? What sort of book does it resemble? (side note: I always thought Sorcerer looked a little like a Time-Life book) Music and other such things contribute to Color. This is calling up the discussion in Sim Essay: reading the book is the start of play? but that debate belongs in that thread, I think.