Theory ramblings

larpwriting has thrown down the gauntlet and said that LARPers are ignorant in theory and that you need to understand GNS to write a good LARP (which means by association you need GNS to write a good RPG). I do agree (though don't have the experience or the bitterness he comes across with about people who hate theory) that a discussion of theory is a good thing for our craft, for any craft. I just find the emphasis on GNS problematic.

He's making a fundamental mistake, which is basically thinking GNS is a theory, which its not. It is neither descriptive nor predicative. What it is is a manifesto (unless you go pre-Forge and than its a meme-quiz). And personally not a very good one. So on that level he's wrong, LARPs do have many, many examples of manifestos, which are all on the level of GNS, so you could easily choose one of those other ones and say the exact same things he's said in that post.

That all said, I do look forward to his subsequent posts as larpwriting has always proven himself an insightful commentator.