on fan fiction and RPGs
Sep. 21st, 2012 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bonny_kateI think playing RPGs can be very much like writing fan fiction (or vice versa, if you prefer). The more that Joel and I talk about RPGs, the more I find that it is a systematized way of doing collaborative storytelling. There is one major difference, which is the combat system, but I'll come back to that. I'm familiar with collaborative storytelling, of playing by some agreed upon rules and creating a story together. I've played the letter game twice, and with three of my friends I've created an alternate world where we have superpowers, and we've given story arcs to our superhero selves. The more I think about collaborative storytelling, the more I find that it seems to be essentially the same in it's many forms. If Joel as the GM agrees with some of the players that they can animate dead horses to storm a castle, is that really any different from my friends and I deciding that our first epic battle as superheroes will be at an Italian Renaissance Faire?
Further, though, the more I hear about how Joel thinks about RPGs, the more it sounds strangely familiar. Playing around with stories within a community within a setting that is bound by certain rules sounds oddly like fanfiction. I've dabbled in reading fanfiction, and I know that most of it happens within a community. It may not be collaborative to the extent that RPGs often are, but it often happens with the input of other readers. It happens within a set universe. In RPGs, one plays by the rules, of, say, Exalted. With fanfiction, one plays within the rules of, for instance, Harry Potter. The GM or the author may determine how much tweaking of these rules is allowed, or how generous one can be in interpreting the rules. Further, I think there's a parallel of those who are really into the rules. It isn't an exact parallel, but I think the type of person who spends their time researching all the various Charms in Exalted and how exactly they work in combat is similar to the type of person who spends all their time researching the details of the Silmarillion and knows Elvish of either variety.
I'm not sure if there is a parallel, or if I'm seeing patterns from staring at this too long.
It's something I keep turning around in my head. I'm also wondering why there are more men than women who play RPGs, and more women than men who write fanfiction, at least anecdotally (there are so many possible causes, I'm not even sure where to begin). I wonder why the girls I know who play RPGs are more interested in story than mechanics, and if I have a large enough sample size for this to be relevant. I wonder if women really are more collaborative when it comes to playing RPGs, and if so, why.
Further, though, the more I hear about how Joel thinks about RPGs, the more it sounds strangely familiar. Playing around with stories within a community within a setting that is bound by certain rules sounds oddly like fanfiction. I've dabbled in reading fanfiction, and I know that most of it happens within a community. It may not be collaborative to the extent that RPGs often are, but it often happens with the input of other readers. It happens within a set universe. In RPGs, one plays by the rules, of, say, Exalted. With fanfiction, one plays within the rules of, for instance, Harry Potter. The GM or the author may determine how much tweaking of these rules is allowed, or how generous one can be in interpreting the rules. Further, I think there's a parallel of those who are really into the rules. It isn't an exact parallel, but I think the type of person who spends their time researching all the various Charms in Exalted and how exactly they work in combat is similar to the type of person who spends all their time researching the details of the Silmarillion and knows Elvish of either variety.
I'm not sure if there is a parallel, or if I'm seeing patterns from staring at this too long.
It's something I keep turning around in my head. I'm also wondering why there are more men than women who play RPGs, and more women than men who write fanfiction, at least anecdotally (there are so many possible causes, I'm not even sure where to begin). I wonder why the girls I know who play RPGs are more interested in story than mechanics, and if I have a large enough sample size for this to be relevant. I wonder if women really are more collaborative when it comes to playing RPGs, and if so, why.