Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Lingua RPGA and the Writer

Steve Berman has an excellent article on Strange Horizons that examines the social dynamics and creative applications of role-playing games.

RPGs definitely encourage social interaction and can contribute toward a writer's storytelling ability. They also teach problem-solving, especially the creative application of available tools. I once saved a very expensive pump from falling through the rotting floor of our well-house by tying a rope to it, and tying the other end of the rope to a tree. That was very much a game-inspired use of 50' of rope.

And inspiration? "Elegy for a Chaos Mage" came out of a game I played a few years ago.
Tags: fantasy, networking, reading, writing
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  • 2 comments
blairhippo

blairhippo

July 7 2008, 19:55:04 UTC 12 years ago

I'm currently involved in a GURPS Illuminati University campaign. My character is a Marine from the 31st century who accidentally got chucked backwards roughly 1000 years with no real way to get back. I'm making it a point of pride to see what outlandish nonsense I can make up on the fly regarding the events of those thousand years.

F'rinstance: His name is Private Edwin Linus Hitler. His last name doesn't carry any particular social stigma in his own time because around the 25th century, violating Godwin's Law became a capital offense. Eventually, people decided it was safest for everybody if certain historical details were judiciously edited. Thus, the name "Hitler" eventually crept back into common usage. As far as Eddie knows, the guy responsible for that big-ass war in the mid 20th century was named "Adolph Voldemort."

If you're willing to do some coloring outside the lines and not approach them as an exercise in who gets to write down the biggest numbers on their character sheet, role-playing games can be a great way to exercise a bit of creative muscle.
talithakalago

talithakalago

July 8 2008, 03:40:28 UTC 12 years ago

RPGs have definately always served me well in terms of 1) learning to write when I wasn't in the mood and 2) dynamic, surprising and interesting plots.

Also, nearly singlehandedly taught me about good dialogue.