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Khamura · 06-13-2002, 05:59 PM

I agree. I don't disparage arc-like plots at all, but I have seen problems turn up if people attempt to turn a TinyPlot into, let's call it, a LargePlot -- and especially if they do so multiple times.

What my initial and by far biggest problem with the matter at hand is, though, is that a fair amount of people in staffer positions are misled in their belief that you can run a plot like you can tell a story. That is not the case, and will never be.

A common misconception involves stories, it would seem. Many places (such as the one I hail from) sport descriptions featuring a phrase such as "interactive storylines". This is a nice-sounding catchphrase for advertising, I will admit -- and it's a wrong assumption. Stories aren't, at their very core, interactive; thus exists the term "storyline" -- meaning a straight narratory line that connects a beginning with an end. Without a doubt the way from one point to the other can be very exciting -- but it is not in any way interactive.

MU*s /want/ interaction, however. That is what they are all about, after all. Therefore, the staffers need to eradicate the concept of stories from their minds. Never think of yourself as a storyteller, if you do you're already going down the wrong road. You're not a "teller" of anything, not, not, and never. You're much more like a billiard player: you set the balls in motion, and then watch it go until it needs your input again. Even good billiard players can't directly control the balls in the game; what they do is they learn how to handle their cue with such exactness that they can foretell where which ball will go; and even then, a chance event can always interfere.

Staffers should think of their relation to the players as being roughly similar: you give them something to act on, some initial amount of energy, trying to get them to go in a certain direction -- but you can never expect being able to steer their course. If the situation you end up with is not what you planned when you cue the first ball into motion -- work with that instead. It doesn't help anyone if the staffer running a plot suddenly sulks about players "not doing what they are supposed to do" -- it especially doesn't help the plot.

06-13-2002, 05:59 PM	#3
Khamura New Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 7	I agree. I don't disparage arc-like plots at all, but I have seen problems turn up if people attempt to turn a TinyPlot into, let's call it, a LargePlot -- and especially if they do so multiple times. What my initial and by far biggest problem with the matter at hand is, though, is that a fair amount of people in staffer positions are misled in their belief that you can run a plot like you can tell a story. That is not the case, and will never be. A common misconception involves stories, it would seem. Many places (such as the one I hail from) sport descriptions featuring a phrase such as "interactive storylines". This is a nice-sounding catchphrase for advertising, I will admit -- and it's a wrong assumption. Stories aren't, at their very core, interactive; thus exists the term "storyline" -- meaning a straight narratory line that connects a beginning with an end. Without a doubt the way from one point to the other can be very exciting -- but it is not in any way interactive. MU*s /want/ interaction, however. That is what they are all about, after all. Therefore, the staffers need to eradicate the concept of stories from their minds. Never think of yourself as a storyteller, if you do you're already going down the wrong road. You're not a "teller" of anything, not, not, and never. You're much more like a billiard player: you set the balls in motion, and then watch it go until it needs your input again. Even good billiard players can't directly control the balls in the game; what they do is they learn how to handle their cue with such exactness that they can foretell where which ball will go; and even then, a chance event can always interfere. Staffers should think of their relation to the players as being roughly similar: you give them something to act on, some initial amount of energy, trying to get them to go in a certain direction -- but you can never expect being able to steer their course. If the situation you end up with is not what you planned when you cue the first ball into motion -- work with that instead. It doesn't help anyone if the staffer running a plot suddenly sulks about players "not doing what they are supposed to do" -- it especially doesn't help the plot.