The Silent Majority
When I reflect on this blog and what my projects under the name of Runeslinger are, it is inescapable to conclude that in the beginning, these endeavors were rooted in an effort to maintain a conversation with the dead.
Lucifer’s Lexicon: On RPG Concepts and Terms~
No Ambrose Bierces were harmed in the making of this post.
The bones of this post actually date back to the launch of this blog in May of 2010 though the content is much older. I had a few conflicting ideas about the blog in those days as it was inspired by the loss of my friend Tom (a genius) and the sense of dismay it sparked to know that there would be no more talks about games, life, or onion soup with him, and to know that a person like that was gone from the world. Worse, all the conversations we had had about gaming were now only the version in my memory – and of the two of us, he liked and got along with people much better than I do.
RPGs: not just happy accidents
Often, in our zeal to define the nature of RPGs, gamers can get caught up in those specifics and forget about – or worse deride – those enjoyably investigating some other part or parts of the elephant.
Call of Cthulhu Rises Again~
In the imagined situation these characters and their decisions create and keep in motion, I have presented the players with some curious and upsetting details. As the clock ticks on, Terrence and Callum have followed their motivations, their curiosity, and their urge to find fame and fortune in breaking this case open in the papers. Smalls has found the secrets of the bloodthirsty book and its intimations about one Ludvig Prinn to be so fascinating it is worth heaving his massive bulk out of his shop and apartment on Newbury Street to uncover the truth of them.
On Immersion and Engagement in RPG Play
To help explore the topic of what can be meant in general, and what we specifically mean in a given example when we wax eloquent about immersion, I like to separate things into two defined experiences, that of immersion, and that of engagement. Immersion can suffice on its own, but as usual, the more things a word applies to the more ways it can subtly interfere with communication.
Casting Shadows 