Weekly Review Jul. 2nd to Jul. 8th

This week has seen several discussions on RPG theory, from broaching immersion to the meaning and practice of plot.

Immersion

As part of his month on Immersion, Thomas Robertson puts forward a definition for immersion in RPGs. He suggest that immersion is when you stop paying attention to how you play, and simply play. Meanwhile, over at Story Games Fred Wolke describes his own immersion as a visceral response to character emotions.

Knowing What Will Happen

Eliot Wilen asks who controls the plot in typical RPGs. He points out that this depends on whether you consider plot to be sequence of events or a situation to be resolved. This idea folds neatly into a discussion on Story Games where games with fixed outcomes and story structure are considered. In these cases, it seems the means and meaning by which the fixed plot is enacted provides the enjoyment of play.