[BNW] Meta-Plot vs Static world

["Caias Brian Ward" <talespinner@mindspring.com>]

It's not *just* a marketing tool.  It gives the feeling of a "living world",
where, in this time where more games are including interactivity into their
storylines (players affecting plot), you can make a difference in how the
story develops.  Your characters can become part of the game world, and you
can be part of the story.

At least that is what I'm doing with my company's RPG *DreamSide*.
Advancing storyline, but based on what occurs to the average player in
tabletop and live action play.  Designed so that they won't step on the toes
of the most important part of the game: the PCs.

Game companies can just put out supplements and not advance the storyline to
avoid this, but then you would just have splatbooks and GM's Guides and
other books that do the same thing; add more stuff to the game, and can step
on your toes.  What if some bit of history in said 'static' game contradicts
what you established, and causes your game to wildly diverge at this point?
Or if a new power is released?  Unless you expect the company to release 50
books at once, with the 'whole story' developed, there will be
contradictions.  Don't use them if you don't like them.

The focus of your game should be your players, but without a changing world,
you might as well have them act in front of an oil painting.  I'd rather
have a chance to do something that can affect the game's story, than just
read about the history of obscure characters that I would never use in some
splatbook.  Comic books have stories and evolving characters; it is what
make them interesting.

As for Gareth's lack of meta-plot, let's see how it works first before we
trumpet it.  I like Gareth, both as a person and as a writer, but I'll
reserve judgment on what happens with Underworld until I see it.

Caias
www.talespinnerstudios.com


----- Original Message -----
From: William Davis <williamjdavis@hotmail.com>
To: <bnw@gamerz.net>
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2000 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: [BNW] white House Snuffer Fields



> Sorry, but this is just a marketing tool. And a blatant, transparent,
> bludgeoning one at that. It offends me. But I like the game enough to
where
> I am valiantly trying to ignore this. Which should say something about the
> 'necessity' of this type marketing tool.
>
> See Garth-Michael Sarka's Underworld for the way it should be done.
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