How to Run a Game (Part 12) - Cooperation

 


I didn't write that, and I've saved the image from a post I saw on one of the Non D&D game groups of Facebook. Apparently it's an excerpt from "Fear Itself", a horror-genre game based on the Gumshoe system, but it provides some great advice for all types of gaming groups.

Generally my observations regarding this are fairly straightforward. I've already described the three-way tension, and have referenced it multiple times during this sequence. If there is only tension or antagonism between the GM/narrator and the players, there is little scope for the story moving forward. Instead it stagnates, and both sides get frustrated. Sometimes the players and narrator have to work together to pull the narrative out of a rut, away from the stagnation, or away from the power of the rules. In some cases this might even be the "rule of cool" or "rule zero" which many games have... this rule basically says that if everyone thinks something is  good for the story, it can simply be added because it's enjoyable.

Is this really a point where the Narrator and Players are competing against the system? I'm not sure, especially when the system often says to ignore the rules in favour of a more enjoyable experience.

Anyway, I guess it's not that important. The aim here is to go with the flow, wherever it may take you.  

  

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