Facets of the Paradigm
This whole wave of avante-garde game-making—centered largely around The Forge—has created a new paradigm, at least for those who’ve embraced it. But this paradigm is many faceted, and I’m realizing more and more that they are separate: many of the ideas being pursued and promoted are not bound inextricably together. I’m interested in many of them, but probably not all. I also see how other people may be very put off by some of these concepts, but I hope they can still see the value in others. Perhaps by separating them out a little, and being conscious of thier independance, we can all help with that.
The following items have been variously promoted by the indie-design “movement.” (Of course, the movement is just individuals, each with their own interests and goals, so we shouldn’t expect uniformity. But certain voices can be heard more than others, and certain ideas heard again and again.)
- Critically analyzing games and generally taking game design seriously.
- Creating written rules for a lot of play organization or "structure building" that were previously left undiscussed. (Sorceror, DitV)
- Questioning the necessity of many traditional RPG rules, and replacing them with something more suited to a specific design issue.
- Creating very focused games, in terms of the fictional content. (E.g., The Mountain Witch.)
- Promoting thematic/dramatic/narrativist play.
- Promoting play that is emotionally intense, even raw. (many games in development)
Personally, I am extremely dedicated to the first three. I’m also very interested in dramatic/thematic play, and some times in focused designs, though not to the exclusion of the alternatives. That last one…much less so, at least when we start to talk about play that is potentially “unsafe,” i.e. emotionally dangerous. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s not where I’m going. Intellectually dangerous? That might be a different story.