Weekly Review December 9th to December 15th

This week has followed last with an upswing in theory developments.

Classifying Setting

Chris Chinn describes two useful kinds of RPG settings. Canonical settings define the context of the game containing thematic options and ideally giving players a reference frame in which to play. Evocative settings ideally provide little information, and instead provide tools that enable players to construct elements based on what the setting evokes for them.

Process of Roleplay

Nathan Paoletta brushes up against theory while working on his RPG Design Handbook. He describes a conceptual way to understand the process of playing RPGs, "a process of collaborative creation, wherein each person involved is both a participant in and an observer of changes made to the fiction of that particular instance of roleplaying."

Diagrams of Theory

John Kim compiles four graphical models of RPGs: Spheres of Performance, The Big Model, The Process Model, and finally Levi Kornelsen's new Big Muddle. This later diagram is discussed further at I would knife fight a man.

Creative Agenda Re-Examined

Over at I would knife fight a man, Vincent Baker attempts to reconstruct another way to approach creative agendas. This has resulted in an exploration of the distinction between story and game within RPGs.