tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post4479994036701637756..comments2023-07-01T05:04:43.376-07:00Comments on Really Bad Eggs: ImmersionBlack Vulmeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04270071699114783644noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-18382210023762331132013-01-22T18:34:17.689-08:002013-01-22T18:34:17.689-08:00Ouch. That hurts, I've done SAR planning [at ...Ouch. That hurts, I've done SAR planning [at sea] and we lost one of the Cuban refugees we pulled out of the water, but it's different when they pass away after you find them. Won't say I'm happy to be out of that business because I know that the work I did there more meaningful that anything I've done since. <br /><br />Still it reminded me of Poul Anderson's <a href="http://www.baenebooks.com/chapters/1416555692/1416555692.htm><i>The Saturn Game</i></a>. A very appropriate story for gamers.Rod Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12824146866756155345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-52995086973179803172013-01-22T17:35:15.468-08:002013-01-22T17:35:15.468-08:00That's why I think Imagineering the setting re...That's why I think <a href="http://black-vulmea.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-is-for-imagineering.html" rel="nofollow">Imagineering the setting</a> really helps.Black Vulmeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04270071699114783644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-8548748191859670812013-01-22T17:26:39.109-08:002013-01-22T17:26:39.109-08:00Well said.Well said.Black Vulmeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04270071699114783644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-73084572065386589812013-01-22T17:26:12.590-08:002013-01-22T17:26:12.590-08:00That's a good point, Trey. Expectations settin...That's a good point, Trey. Expectations setting can ameliorate this somewhat, but it still takes most gaming groups some time to gel.Black Vulmeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04270071699114783644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-31484416145882514522013-01-22T17:24:03.420-08:002013-01-22T17:24:03.420-08:00Thanks very much.Thanks very much.Black Vulmeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04270071699114783644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-38819592549340508892013-01-22T09:47:30.020-08:002013-01-22T09:47:30.020-08:00Great post, Mike.
gamers make out immersion to...Great post, Mike.<br /> <br /><i> gamers make out immersion to be something terribly complicated</i><br /><br />My 5 year-old routinely achieves immersion with Lego bricks and toy superheroes. I think that part of the genius of Gygax, Arneson et al was to find a way to channel the natural, immersive roleplay tendencies of children into a flexible structure that allows them to persist into adulthood. Thus RPGs are arguably a form of <i>neoteny</i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny" rel="nofollow">retention, by adults in a species, of traits previously seen only in juveniles</a>). <br /><br />As putative adults, I suspect we often need more "setting logic" (Greg Stolze's term) than mere Lego bricks (hence your well-put "convincing setting, multi-faceted characters with believable responses, consistency of game-world physic"). But sometimes that disbelief switch can be flipped by the smallest detail -- like folks who start to feel tipsy at the sound of the wine bottle being uncorked, or perk up at the first gurgle of the coffee maker.Matthew Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17343263539473683579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-47278127858881156322013-01-22T07:38:34.112-08:002013-01-22T07:38:34.112-08:00I had a marvelously immersive experience at NTRPG ...I had a marvelously immersive experience at NTRPG Con this past year playing in Jeff Dee's Cavemaster game.<br /><br />Based on that and on my experience with past experiences of spontaneously occurring immersion I don't find anything in your summation with which I could disagree. <br /><br />Immersion is like joy: it occurs when you're not looking for it under conditions you really can't control and attempts to "manufacture" the experience will inevitably fail.Flambeauxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00133131881423202010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-57804953183040202992013-01-22T04:53:05.907-08:002013-01-22T04:53:05.907-08:00Good post.
I think what's difficult is gettin...Good post.<br /><br />I think what's difficult is getting the amount of immersion desired by various members of a group to mesh. If you have a core group that's played a long time, this works itself out, but in the short run it can cause some dissatisfaction.Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-84867612421716409072013-01-22T04:39:06.684-08:002013-01-22T04:39:06.684-08:00Whew. Heavy story. Should have read this after wo...Whew. Heavy story. Should have read this after work. <br /><br />As far as gaming goes if I can get my guys immersed enough to realize that the world doesn't stay static until they come into a room, it moves, evolves and actions have results beyond the immediate situation good or bad or both. <br /><br />Good story. Great example. Gothridge Manorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11371740532802642972noreply@blogger.com