Welcome aboard Temple. Sorry I'm late to the party, but I would add that the REAL problem is with the idea that ONLY Forge-style Storygames are "About" something.

Pretty well every campaign I ever run is "about" something.

The idea that you need a storygame to be "about" something, and that Regular RPGs are not "about" anything, that's where the problem lies, that's what's insulting (not to mention incorrect).

RPGPundit

Quote from: TempleObjective= Bad.
Subjective = Good.

The horror.

I blame his youthful age, our contemporary mores, bad pop music, the government, and of course the internet.

I'm never sure if the claim that forgie games are "about" something should be taken at face value. It's been pointed out- all roleplaying games are "about" something.

What I see a lot of is actually "I want to play (or at least go through the motions of) games that reaffirm my belief system".

Which really can be shorthanded into "I'm actually not so sure what I'm doing in this hobby but I kinda want to be some kind of activist!"

that's right, it's the internet's fault!

http://www.citizensunitednegatingtechnology.com/

Quote from: Abyssal MawWhich really can be shorthanded into "I'm actually not so sure what I'm doing in this hobby but I kinda want to be some kind of activist!"

I've always read it as 'Finaly! A game that forces people to play my way!'

Quote from: beeberthat's right, it's the internet's fault!

http://www.citizensunitednegatingtechnology.com/

And it's all true. Fortunately, there's a remedy:

http://www.getafirstlife.com/

Quote from: Pierce InverarityAnd it's all true. Fortunately, there's a remedy:

http://www.getafirstlife.com/

killer!

Quote from: getafirstlife.comWhy can't I build a dirigible with my mind?

i've frequently wondered that, myself

Blimey, a test to see if we're worthy! I ain't never seen an elephant fly though.

Quote from: beeberi've frequently wondered that, myself

The mask falls: beeber is really Leonardo da Vinci.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityThe mask falls: beeber is really Leonardo da Vinci.

heh, i've lost the key to my own code!  maybe it's in this bottle of rum. . . .

(accidentally knocks lit candle onto pile of parchment drawings)

The key problem is a misunderstanding about the tabletop RPG as a medium.  It's not a console or PC single-player RPG, where you get both a ruleset and a campaign scenario all in one product.  It's not literature, meant to communicate a profound idea to the audience, or popular writing meant purely to entertain it in a passive mode.  (Or, for that matter, drama or comedy.)  It is a ruleset, no more, with no inherent content; you have to either procure it seperately, or you have to create your own using the tools provided.  Thus it's a medium where the users determine what the game--the content--is about, regardless of whatever intention (if any) that the publisher or designer had in mind when they created it.  If the users and the creators maintain any dialog over this use of the ruleset, it's likely that the most visible uses of the ruleset will influence later iterations of the ruleset's creator-produced content; the evolution of Exalted over its lifespan is one clear example.

Quote from: beeberheh, i've lost the key to my own code!  maybe it's in this bottle of rum. . . .

(accidentally knocks lit candle onto pile of parchment drawings)

"It's a simple head code. Any English schoolboy could catch it."

Hemlock Stones, The Giant Rat of Sumatra

-clash

Quote from: Bradford C. WalkerIt is a ruleset, no more, with no inherent content; you have to either procure it seperately, or you have to create your own using the tools provided.  Thus it's a medium where the users determine what the game--the content--is about, regardless of whatever intention (if any) that the publisher or designer had in mind when they created it.  If the users and the creators maintain any dialog over this use of the ruleset, it's likely that the most visible uses of the ruleset will influence later iterations of the ruleset's creator-produced content; the evolution of Exalted over its lifespan is one clear example.

I've always thought about gaming at the [on-the-ground session] level v. [written content] to be analogous to the relationship between a music composition and its performance or a play and its performance.  I'm not talking about anything like artistic content or lack thereof, so just put down the pitchforks.  

Everybody knows that there are as many approaches to interpreting the written content as there are interpreters.  Some musicians/actors/directors are strict constructionists, aiming for the exact intent of the playwright/composer, and others want to roll up their sleeves and get greasy.

I could care less if the books were used as hats, bacon trays and poop scoopers if that's what floats the group's boat.  Samuel Beckett's estate, on the other hand, apparently pays agents to travel the known world seeking out Beckett productions of plays like Waiting for Godot and making sure that the interpreters are living up to his idealized vision of the performance.  WTF?  Are they afraid the Upper Pitneck community players are going to destroy society's vision of the great man by casting a woman or excising a (Pause)?

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker. . . the evolution of Exalted over its lifespan is one clear example.

not being an exalted player, could you elaborate?

What are some of your games about? Examples would be really nice. I always like to hear what's going on in people's games.

Regards,
David R