Where to start with my very recent (as of this morning) revelation?
Ok, so apparently there are two distinct types of immersion...
The old-school immersion uses the player-character as an alter-ego to experience the game world as yourself, but with a sword, blaster, spells, etc. Let's call this "me with an axe" immersion.
The new-school or modern immersion uses the player-character as a role, totally separate from oneself, that one can inhabit like an actor. Let's call it "me as someone else".
That's why, when I'm talking about immersion and how old-school systems and play-styles facilitate immersion better than modern D&D (3rd and 4th editions specifically), lots of gamers get bent out of shape. To them, immersion means something completely different.
For modern D&D gamers, immersion is fostered by giving you a character in which to lose yourself - heavy background, lots of lore, character options, and death is (and should be) rare. According to them, old-school D&D is not ideal because it creates the other kind of immersion.
Both immersions are a type of escapism, self-discovery, and fun... but they go about it in entirely different ways.
If you want to watch my video about all this immersion stuff it's right over here - please like, comment, share, and subscribe!
Thanks,
VS
p.s. This is how you order your very own luxury hardcover Cha'alt and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise books. That link takes you to VENGER CON, my old-school RPG convention next July in Madison, WI.
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ReplyDeleteSorry, my original post was a meandering mess!
ReplyDeleteSuffice to say, I think that with us older gamers our brains became hard wired to enjoy a harsher version of rpgs...because that's how we learned to play them
The real point of any game is to have some goofy fun with your friends! We all may be full of differing opinions of how to accomplish that goal, but really there are few right and wrong answers in that pursuit
Yes, but I think we'd be foolish to ignore the fact that RPG fun springs from immersion.
DeleteAgreed
ReplyDeleteHey Venger, I'm digging into this concept and - as a result - several related ones and I need to get a fix on what exactly constitutes an OSR adventure. To help with this would you be willing to share your opinion on what are the, say top 5, OSR style adventures? The ones that best exemplify the characteristics you identified in your "why OSR is more immersive" post/yt vid, and the ones most likely to support the kind of immersion you describe. As a full disclosure I'll be looking for evidence that the line between old and new isn't as clear cut as is generally accepted, but I'm also strongly in support of your viewpoint and OSR style broadly.
ReplyDeleteI've been in the scene since the early 80s and have amassed over the years an enormous collection of material old and new. I have many personal favorites from the early era but I'm curious where you stand on this.
Sure, yeah. Are you talking both actual old and old-school adventures?
DeleteThanks! Could be from any time or anyone, as long as I can acquire it. Definitely pick anything of yours that fits.
DeleteOk, tomorrow...
DeleteCrap, I didn't get to it... yet.
DeleteTop 3 that I loved running would be The Lost City, Keep On The Borderlands, that Underdark drow module by Gygax, Frozen In Time, Quelong, and my own Beneath Kra'adumek in the Cha'alt book. And if we're not just talking D&D, the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign.
Excellent - thanks Venger. I'll get to work. Big fan of the early B series stuff myself. My top overall would probably be B10, second would be Lost City. Some of the X stuff is cool in concept if not execution like X3,X4 and X5. And oh yeah, Masks, just excellent. I had the original and lost it to a 'friend' back in the early 90s. They reprinted it I think I should get around to picking that up again. Anyhow thanks again!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Isle of Dread is good. I need to revisit all of these.
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