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Author Topic: Open letter to OSR and Storygames  (Read 12363 times)

Kellri

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #15 on: July 27, 2016, 10:20:22 PM »
Quote from: AaronBrown99;910070
When was the last time you heard anyone say, 'hey! let's go out for some Canadian food?'

Last week. That person was me. One of the simple joys of living in Saigon is being able to play 9-ball billiards all day and then go down the street for a bucketful of cheap beer and poutine (with fresh curds that squeak when you eat them). If they also had moose burgers I'd eat there every single day. On the other hand, we also have a restaurant here that advertises itself as serving 'genuine American Chinese food' which is - not good. The most hilarious by far though is the (recently defunct for obvious reasons) restaurant that advertised 'Australian Pho'.
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You can also come up with something that is not only original and creative and artistic, but also maybe even decent, or moral if I can use words like that, or something that's like basically good -Lester Bangs

VengerSatanis

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #16 on: July 27, 2016, 10:52:07 PM »
Quote from: jeff37923;910080
Best paragraph of the blog post. Nice and succinct.


Thank you.

Christopher Brady

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #17 on: July 28, 2016, 12:05:56 AM »
Quote from: Kellri;910122
...poutine (with fresh curds that squeak when you eat them)...

If you're eating ANYTHING that squeaks when you chew on them, you may want to order something else.

Also, the proper poutine is made with yes, Beef gravy, but the cheese curds MUST be St. Albert.


Also, I still don't know what the fuck a 'Storygame' is.  From people tell me, it's just a fancy label for an RPG.  Or something the Pundit absolutely wants to burn in a fire.
"And now, my friends, a Dragon's toast!  To life's little blessings:  wars, plagues and all forms of evil.  Their presence keeps us alert --- and their absence makes us grateful." -T.A. Barron[/SIZE]

yosemitemike

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #18 on: July 28, 2016, 12:25:02 AM »
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.
“I am certain, however, that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice.”― Friedrich Hayek
Another former RPGnet member permanently banned for calling out the staff there on their abdication of their responsibilities as moderators and admins and their abject surrender to the whims of the shrillest and most self-righteous members of the community.

Brand55

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #19 on: July 28, 2016, 12:55:53 AM »
Quote from: Christopher Brady;910131
Also, I still don't know what the fuck a 'Storygame' is.  From people tell me, it's just a fancy label for an RPG.  Or something the Pundit absolutely wants to burn in a fire.
As best I can tell, it's a game that hands some degree of narrative control over to the players rather than letting it all rest in the GM's hands. As a player, the focus is less on what your character is doing and more on what the group story should be. I'm not really sure where the line is drawn, though, as I don't really play many indie RPGs so don't know much about them. The closest I came was taking a look at The Burning Wheel, but just going over the combat stuff made my eyes bleed. If I wanted overly complicated combat in my game, I'd run Hackmaster.
Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.
For the most part, it isn't. The average gamer doesn't have a clue who Zak S or Pundit are, and they've never heard of story games. I know everyone I game with is completely, blissfully unaware of the ridiculous crap that occurs online in the gaming hobby. I often envy them very much, but then I remember that if I weren't active online I wouldn't know about gems like Godbound or BareBones Fantasy that would never, ever see the light of day at any of the (not-very-local) gaming stores I occasionally hit up.

Kellri

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #20 on: July 28, 2016, 12:59:08 AM »
Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.

It's not. It's not even a thing on the Internet outside of a few ardent morons who just have to fly their freak flag every time they get the chance. Really, if any sane person encounters either one of the kinds of people referred to as front-line warriors in the battle of the Storygamers vs. the OSR - their first, and best reaction should be to laugh and carry on with their day - after making a mental note to never, ever invite that asshole to a game.
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You can also come up with something that is not only original and creative and artistic, but also maybe even decent, or moral if I can use words like that, or something that's like basically good -Lester Bangs

Daztur

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #21 on: July 28, 2016, 01:16:15 AM »
Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.

Back in 2014 when it really blew up we had one guy screaming continually about it in our local Facebook group to people who had never heard of anyone involved. He eventually got banned for continually refusing to offer any proof of anything.

Besides that zero.

Gronan of Simmerya

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #22 on: July 28, 2016, 01:19:08 AM »
Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.

Thank Crom, I was starting to think I was the only one who felt that way.
You should go to GaryCon.  Period.

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Omega

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #23 on: July 28, 2016, 01:55:53 AM »
Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.


I wonder this too. But I've started to see the storygamer proclamations outside the net now and can about tell what faction they got their ideas from by what they quoted.

Its also gotten into board gaming and fairly regularly someone will solemnly proclaim Arkham Horror is a really real RPG because they made up a story about the random things that happened while playing. They didnt do any actual role playing while playing. But "I made up a story" makes it an RPG because their idea of RPG is Storygame.

And because Im an equal opportunity idiot slapper. RPG players are guilty of doing this to board gamers too. "Look! This game has units with STATS! Its an RPG!" and every god ever wept.

Or the ones that take it to the Nth degree and role playing (really storygaming) is now defined as "everything on earth" because you can make a story out of anything.

This is part of why theres such conflict between RPG and Storygame. Side B is trying to co-opt side A.

Now replace story game with solo game and scream.

Personally I reserve actual hostilities only with those who try to conflate a meaning to "everything on earth" and especially with those fuckers who are co-opting whatever not because they believe it. But so they can sucker people into buying their product or so there can be more of their thing.

Shawn Driscoll

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #24 on: July 28, 2016, 02:46:08 AM »
Quote from: AaronBrown99;910070
When was the last time you heard anyone say, 'hey! let's go out for some Canadian food?'
I would love to try poutine (or whatever it's called). But no such food exists here.

Spinachcat

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #25 on: July 28, 2016, 04:25:30 AM »
Quote from: Kellri;910122
One of the simple joys of living in Saigon is being able to play 9-ball billiards all day and then go down the street for a bucketful of cheap beer and poutine (with fresh curds that squeak when you eat them).

Is there a notable ex-pat Canadian population in Saigon?

Do you have a local RPG crew these days?


Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.

Neither the OSR, nor the Storywankers exist very much outside the web. It's an online thingie.

I run S&W:WB at game days and out of dozens of players, only a handful had any idea WTF the OSR may be. For everyone else, S&W = AD&D.


Quote from: Brand55;910137
I know everyone I game with is completely, blissfully unaware of the ridiculous crap that occurs online in the gaming hobby. I often envy them very much, but then I remember that if I weren't active online I wouldn't know about gems like Godbound or BareBones Fantasy that would never, ever see the light of day at any of the (not-very-local) gaming stores I occasionally hit up.

You nailed it.

The online idiot drama is only acceptable because of discovering kewl shit. It's all about managing the signal to noise ratio in your online experience. It's tough.

Rincewind1

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #26 on: July 28, 2016, 05:46:12 AM »
2005 called, it wants it's thread back.
Furthermore, I consider that  This is Why We Don't Like You thread should be closed

Kellri

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #27 on: July 28, 2016, 06:04:05 AM »
Quote from: Spinachcat;910167
Is there a notable ex-pat Canadian population in Saigon?

Do you have a local RPG crew these days?

Yes, on both counts. Nearly all of my expat friends are Canadian. I have one good Australian friend, and generally avoid Americans. I don't particularly dislike my fellow Yanks, but I just don't have much in common with them. As for gaming, I play with both expats and Vietnamese (usually in different groups). The expat games typically involve a lot of drinking and smoking and staying out really late while the VNamese games are more geared toward introducing the hobby to high-level IELTS/TOEFL candidates who want conversational practice. The expat games, mostly because the players have all been living here for at least a decade and don't keep up with the rpg scene, are strictly old-school D&D affairs. The Viets, who also aren't hip to the hobby, are a lot more open to doing whatever I feel like - experimental one-shots, etc.  I also play pretty regularly with my kids - we're starting on BASH, a supers game now, which seems pretty fast and fun.
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Old School netbooks + more

You can also come up with something that is not only original and creative and artistic, but also maybe even decent, or moral if I can use words like that, or something that's like basically good -Lester Bangs

RosenMcStern

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #28 on: July 28, 2016, 06:04:07 AM »
Applause. Big one. Venger, if you ever run for any elected position - be it President of Earth or Cheerleader of the Year - you have my vote.

I have some [slight] doubts about your definition of Storygames, but I will rather express them in CRKrueger's recent discussion on the subject. Let's not hijack this splendid call for a gaming world with more Fun and fewer Flames.

Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.


It is. Most of the protagonists are "keyboard warriors" who behave differently when interacting with a real person, but in certain contexts there is an active indie population that organizes conventions, invites advocates to speak at public events, spends a fuckazilion of bucks to fly Ron Edwards across the Atlantic, and so on. This definitely counts as "outside the internet".
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The Butcher

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Open letter to OSR and Storygames
« Reply #29 on: July 28, 2016, 08:08:10 AM »
Quote from: jeff37923;910080
Best paragraph of the blog post. Nice and succinct.


Indeed. Very nicely put.

Quote from: yosemitemike;910133
I wonder if this is even a real thing outside of the internet.


Storygamers probably feel the same way about the OSR.

Quote from: Rincewind1;910181
2005 called, it wants it's thread back.


Yeah.