This was a fascinating to read. I love the idea and phrase "Shared Imaginary Space," and I will add it to my vocabulary and way of thinking about Roleplaying Games. I am working on a game right now, and I am really trying to understand how I want to approach the project. This was very helpful. Thank you.
My TTRPG friends and I have been faced again and again with people who have come into the "
TTRPG hobby" from Forge games, PBTA, Blades in the Dark, etc. The games that literally state "A Roleplaying Game is a Conversation", and then never again use the word game when describing them.
We always felt that this wasn't right, it wasn't wrong, but it was incomplete.
Storytelling games and traditional RPGs both get called RPGs. This is just clearly wrong, they're not the same. If we're going to insist that they're both RPGs then they're at least completely different genres, similar to how a first person shooter, and a point and click adventure game are very different genres in video games.
But the storygamers insist that their storygames is what TTRPGs always were supposed to be, that they are an evolution and that traditional RPGs are bad, outdated, and nobody should play them. I don't mind that storytelling games exist, I just want people to stop lying about them.
This was a fascinating to read. I love the idea and phrase "Shared Imaginary Space," and I will add it to my vocabulary and way of thinking about Roleplaying Games. I am working on a game right now, and I am really trying to understand how I want to approach the project. This was very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you for this!
My TTRPG friends and I have been faced again and again with people who have come into the "
TTRPG hobby" from Forge games, PBTA, Blades in the Dark, etc. The games that literally state "A Roleplaying Game is a Conversation", and then never again use the word game when describing them.
We always felt that this wasn't right, it wasn't wrong, but it was incomplete.
Storytelling games and traditional RPGs both get called RPGs. This is just clearly wrong, they're not the same. If we're going to insist that they're both RPGs then they're at least completely different genres, similar to how a first person shooter, and a point and click adventure game are very different genres in video games.
But the storygamers insist that their storygames is what TTRPGs always were supposed to be, that they are an evolution and that traditional RPGs are bad, outdated, and nobody should play them. I don't mind that storytelling games exist, I just want people to stop lying about them.
Brilliant essay. I couldn't agree more.