Brain Damage Thread

[J Arcane]

You know, as someone who does actually suffer from the effects of brain damage, and as someone whose whole family as suffered from the after effects of child abuse in one form or another, I feel as if I should have every right to be staggeringly offended by Edward's ignorant rhetoric.

And yet, I can't muster up much more than a level of sad disgust, of pity, even.  Truly, there's something utterly pathetic, so petty, about stooping to such a level just to try and score rhetorical points over a bloody game.  A game.

[Settembrini]

Spione is using the method of roleplay, but it´s totally story creation, and you don´t habve your own character, but rather an agenda for the story.

Which you have to come up with yourself, and then you try to meta-psycho-game the others to accept your story input. To get started  with the story, you have a bunch of characters with conflicts. All those conflicts are cold war related, but as usual in the Thematic style, they are quickly (and supposedt to be) broken down to the bare human level.

Frex:
Family vs. Country, Honesty etc.

But it really doesn´t matter, because the resolution system is luck based:

You draw cards. Higher cards overrule lower cards. Thusly, there is no ressources or tactics, there is only luck. Then, the lucky player can steer the story in his direction. To have your input valued, you must therefore make your story parts in a way nobody wants to overrule it.

It´s very basic, unelegant and yould have been way easier to play with Narrative Cagematch, with even better results.

Ron tries to market it to "Spy Novel readers" (is this popular in the US? I had never before heard about it here) and therefore came thrice to Berlin to talk to storeowners, if they would carry the book. Don´t know about how that turned out. But it´s safe to say no one from the press showed up at the main event last year, and bobody has seen a Spione copy in a bookstore.

Joewolz might look at my blog entry

http://hofrat.blogspot.com/search?q=spione

The lowest one is the main post, titled "We´re off to see the Wizard!"

[Tyberious Funk]

Joewolz might look at my blog entry

http://hofrat.blogspot.com/search?q=spione

The lowest one is the main post, titled "We´re off to see the Wizard!"

Ahhhh...  perhaps someone who speaks not-English can provide a rough translation.  

[Settembrini]

What I wrote above is roughly paraphrasing my thoughts on that.

[Christmas Ape]

Wow.

That actually sounds worse that Big Uncle Ron's other crapulent game.

Sad, man. Just sad.

[jrients]

We've already covered this before in other threads.

Thread closed.

(Okay that was a cheap shot.)

[joewolz]

We've already covered this before in other threads.

Thread closed.

(Okay that was a cheap shot.)

I almost believed you because I haven't had my coffee yet.  Good Joke! :haw:

Is Spione available anywhere?  Also, Sett, there's not that many "Spy Novel Readers" in the United States either.  Not a very common genre to my knowledge.

[Settembrini]

Is Spione available anywhere?

I don´t know. You might want to check out it´s website:

http://spione.adept-press.com/?thebook

EDIT: Seems it is available.

[joewolz]

Thanks Sett, that's the site I wanted.  I didn't know if he was selling it in Enlgish or German, nor did I know if he was using his usual imprint.

I'm a little angry that we Americans can't buy the German version.  I'd much rather have that, since I doubt I'll ever play the thing.  And if I want to just read something, I might as well practice my German.

[Settembrini]

Maybe you can just ask him?
I´m pretty sure he could set up the german pdf on US Lulu.

[Settembrini]

@Spione:

There are videos on the linked site, actual play videos.
The game is structured into:

Preparation

Description

Resolution (Flashpoint, where the actual card mechanics are used)

D.

R.
...

So be sure to look into a basic description of the structure, or the actual  play vids make no sense.

[SgtSpaceWizard]

Well if not that, then the follow-up which says that bad gaming is like child abuse is pretty venomous, if you ask me.

It ties in with their idea that if you had fun/stories playing "incoherent" games, well then really you didn't have fun/stories, it's just that you were so brain-damaged/abused that you didn't know what fun/stories really were.

Dunno about you, but I find that pretty offensive. It's an amazingly elaborate way of saying, "if you disagree with me, it's only because you're crazy or stupid."

I can dismiss the "brain damage" and "child abuse" comments as hyperbole when I'm feeling generous (though the continued defense of these comments and the non-retraction leave me less inclined to do so). However I'm most offended by the idea that I don't know when I'm having fun or not. That's the most self serving bullshit of it all.

That and I don't think Ron Edwards would know a "story" if one fell out of his ass with Cliff Notes. :haw:

[Settembrini]

The real problem is the intellectual poverty:

Your approach to story is a function of socialization and training.
Sure, you can be trained badly.

But insiting on literal brain damage speaks volumes about the authors academical and intellectual training.

He seems not to be trained to approach social and cultural phenomena with the tools vocabulary and concepts of cultural and social sciences.


The whole muddling up of biological phenomena with those of the cultural sphere is at the very least a very bold move. He would be pointed with fingers at and laughed out of the room in any humanities seminar I can imagine if he made that connection there.

[joewolz]

The whole muddling up of biological phenomena with those of the cultural sphere is at the very least a very bold move. He would be pointed with fingers at and laughed out of the room in any humanities seminar I can imagine if he made that connection there.

I agree completely, being somone involved in the Humanities.

I bolded the above because sometimes your German really infulences your English...I'm not ripping on you Sett, that just sounds really funny to me.  If we ever speak or write German to each other, please expect me to sound much funnier, as your English is a hell of a lot better than my German!

[James McMurray]

That's what I like about this place. So much discussion about game design and theory.