[Primetime Adventures] "Last Stand" Great pitch... but then what happened?
Sebastian K. Hickey:
Hi Callan, thanks for your advice. I've read your post again. Answering the question, yes, I was trying to inject conflict. I didn't do very well all the time, but I was trying. I was not waiting for the story to happen by itself. That kind of sit-back GMing, couch potato laziness, would be taking the TV metaphor too far. Also, this part of the sentence still doesn't make sense to me (below). If it's important, could you rephrase it. Otherwise, cheers for your generous advice.
Ciao.
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I'm refering to setting as a potential injection point for an overall conflict
FredGarber:
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To introduce Object 718 to the bombing" and "To meet the captain" aren't focused on character Issues and don't imply any conflict.
I agree. Could you twist those scene agendas, tweak them a bit, to show me what a good conflict agenda might be? I'm struggling with this and need some help.
1.
I'd twist it so that the Gorilla sits down next to Object 718 as he's sipping his morning drink and says "Things are crazy after that bombing. Can you sober up and use those robot brains to analyze the situation?"
I think this puts the issue right there in the first conflict. The play gets a chance for immersion and can role-play "Drunk tries to sound logical" or "Bender Explains It All," depending on how he sees O718.
2.
I'd twist it so that instead of just the Captain, the Captain is arguing with Vicki (the hot civil rights lawyer). Vicki storms out as McMahon comes in. The Captain says "McMahon, that lovely young lady thinks that our department is going to violate some scumbag's civil rights when we look into this bombing. Get after her. I want you to keep tabs on her, and tell me what she knows."
Issues right there. Does he follow orders, or his, um, heart?
3.
Instead of "Get to the conflict as soon as possible", I read that sentence as "Push for the conflict as soon as possible." In other words, I let the players have about a minute or two of unfocused play in the scene before the NPC or the situation starts pushing on their issues.
Example of Actual Play:
"I want a character scene, in the coffeeshop, where Colby and Jade get to know one another." says Colby's player.
Colby's issue is finding the truth, and she's secretly a govt. agent. Jade is secretly a shapeshifter, and her issue is remaining free from captivity.
I let Colby and Jade talk a little bit, and then I introduce cop cars with sirens and lights race outside the coffeeshop to the crime scene these characters have just escaped down the street. (I push for conflict)
Colby tries to pay attention and also ignore it. Jade flinches, and all of a sudden they're discussing how Jade doesn't trust cops.
In addition, Jade's player has Jade's body Shift a little under the stress, giving a visual clue that Jade has a secret. Jade's player wants only the audience to see it, not Colby
Is this enough tension to have a conflict? Not for me. I let Jade's character's slip be hidden from Colby, let Colby's player know there will be other chances to find that out, and I decide to push for greater tension. (maybe Jade will have no choice but to Shift in front of Colby?)
I have a rookie cop comes into the coffeeshop to get coffee for the detectives. (I push the cop thing harder, waiting for tension)
Colby and Jade decide to leave.
I have Colby's car blocked in by a big Govt SUV. (the Cops issue is right in front of them)
I tell Colby she's got enough rank to get out of here: all she has to do is pull it.
And there's my Conflict: Does Colby out herself as an authority figure, without losing Jade's trust?
Colby wins the conflict, Jade loses the conflict, and I win Narration. Colby pulls rank quietly, and tells Jade she just asked the cop nicely. Jade is freaking out, and she wants to go home to her safe place.
I ended scene as they drove away, and turn to Jade to frame the next scene...
-Fred
Callan S.:
Quote from: Sebastian K. Hickey on October 04, 2009, 03:34:42 PM
Hi Callan, thanks for your advice. I've read your post again. Answering the question, yes, I was trying to inject conflict. I didn't do very well all the time, but I was trying. I was not waiting for the story to happen by itself. That kind of sit-back GMing, couch potato laziness, would be taking the TV metaphor too far. Also, this part of the sentence still doesn't make sense to me (below). If it's important, could you rephrase it. Otherwise, cheers for your generous advice.
Fair enough - how about the other players? Either through table talk (well, I guess that's meta game talk) or through some mechanic?
BTW, I may be well off - I'd treat my question as perhaps having some useful answer on the situation. I think it has a high chance of being useful, but I wouldn't take it as gospel.
Sebastian K. Hickey:
Hey Fred,
That was a really helpful post. Thank you for the time and energy you put into it.
Callan, I see what you're getting at now. In retrospect, I think I was the only one gunning for conflict. As you've seen, I've got a lot to learn on that front. Well, I say a lot to learn, but I could change that to 'a lot to practise' after all the good advice offered here. In response to your advice, I accept that the generation of conflict has to be spread amongst the whole group, and in encouraging that, my job as a producer will become much easier.
Callan S.:
I might be missplaced, but I don't think it's all up to you - the model is instead like a band, where everyone has instruments like already like to play sometimes and don't need encouragement to pick up. Instead they are actually keen to pick them up even before the gig.
However, alot of gamer culture seems to have trained gamers to sit down and basically be a passive audience because that one time they blew a trumpet (so to speak) they were called an asshat. So on the other hand, if this is the case, maybe it is up to you to undo such damage, if it is actually undoable. It's a bit hard to know which way to think about it :(
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