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More musings about Setting
Jun. 20th, 2006 03:45 pmWhy setting? is a question ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
peaseblossom, jeffwik and I chewed around last week. Or more specifically what is the advantage of working with a setting upfront.
The purpose of setting is to influences theme, character and action. What setting allows is a set of shorthand that allows one to easily tap into a large body of shared collective experiences. Doing a game set in the Inner City provides a ready opportunity to talk about decay and responsibility, because gamers have a whole bunch of assumptions and stereotypes that come standard-issue with that type of setting. Setting, and world-building, is the framework within which a lot of the important character driven stuff happens. Sure plot and character and theme can happen with no front-loaded setting, but having a front-loaded setting makes it so much easier and gives a shared framework from the get together.
Yes, communicating setting can take work, but on the opposite end not communicating setting means you have to rely on other aspects of System to communicate stuff like theme, which can often lead to mechanics that exist to deprive of choice. So one of the things I firmly believe is that setting isn’t about depriving choice, setting is all about giving choice in real and meaningful ways.
peaseblossom, jeffwik and I chewed around last week. Or more specifically what is the advantage of working with a setting upfront. The purpose of setting is to influences theme, character and action. What setting allows is a set of shorthand that allows one to easily tap into a large body of shared collective experiences. Doing a game set in the Inner City provides a ready opportunity to talk about decay and responsibility, because gamers have a whole bunch of assumptions and stereotypes that come standard-issue with that type of setting. Setting, and world-building, is the framework within which a lot of the important character driven stuff happens. Sure plot and character and theme can happen with no front-loaded setting, but having a front-loaded setting makes it so much easier and gives a shared framework from the get together.
Yes, communicating setting can take work, but on the opposite end not communicating setting means you have to rely on other aspects of System to communicate stuff like theme, which can often lead to mechanics that exist to deprive of choice. So one of the things I firmly believe is that setting isn’t about depriving choice, setting is all about giving choice in real and meaningful ways.
