I learned about System from Munchkins
Daniel B:
Hmm ..
Good points
contracycle:
Quote from: Jasper Flick on January 11, 2010, 03:47:45 AM
We play Zombie-Fluxx.
Well given that I know nothing about ZF this is of course speculation, but I'm willing to bet that the ability to introduce a zombie is actually governed by something other than groaning. There will be some sort of currency or shift of authorial control that really grants this facility. I doubt that groaning, in an of itself, automatically introduces a zombie in its own right; for example, if this is a game with turn structure, if I groaned during someone elses turn, I bet it would have no effect on the IS.
As such, groaning is an adjunct to the really effective systematic technique that introduces zombies. It may be valuable in a anumber of sense, but I'd expect you actually could play the game without groaning and this would not impede the operation of those relevant techniques.
Jasper Flick:
Well, the point is probably moot, because Zombie-Fluxx is a variant of Fluxx, which isn't an RPG but a cascual card game. Requiring something akin to Actor Stance while playing a Zombie card could be dismissed as nothing more than a goofball rule, and mechanically it'd work just fine. You'd probably get less giggles though. All right, that was the set-up. Now:
We play Polaris.
Situation 1: I gather everyone around in a circle, and start the game by saying "All right, let's get started!"
What just happenen to the SIS? What just happened in your mind?
Situation 2: I gather everyone around in a circle, and start the game by saying "Long ago, The people Were dying at The end of The World."
What just happenen to the SIS? What just happened in your mind?
contracycle:
Well those seem rather different in that one does make claims about the IS and one does not. Assuming you have the current credibility to assert that claim, sure the IS changes in the latter case. But, this is not operationg purely at the SC level, it's a standard technique imposing shape on the IS.
(although, as it happens, not for me, because I habitually ignore that sort of enigmatic reference)
Jasper Flick:
Situation 1: We're sitting in a room, going to play a silly game, still stuck in real life. We'll have to struggle to boot up the SIS.
Situation 2: The SIS got primed!
Obviously, this depends a lot on childhood experience, culture, and lots of other stuff. Here's what happens to me.
"Long ago" is the beginning of a magic phrase that signals we're about to enter a fairy tale world. Suspend your common sense, because from now on, anything can be possible. Forget about what's happening in real life and regress to a childlike state of wonder, excitement, and anticipation.
The default fairy tale, with its default expectations, would be announced with something like "Long ago, in a kingdom far away." There will likely be young royalty, witches, and talking animals.
"Long ago, the people were dying at the end of the world" signals we're not entering a default fairy tale. This is a tragic tale, and it takes place in a special location. What are the people suffering from? What is the end of the world? You're about to find out.
Here's another one: "Long ago, in a galaxy far away." Once again a fairy tale, but this time of galactic scope, with spacecrafts, energy weapons, and other science-fantasy stuff. In short, Star Wars.
The phrase doesn't change the SIS with cold hard facts. It lays the foundation for a specific kind of SIS, while leaving the possibilities wide open.
That's how it works for me.
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