Simulationism is 'safe'

Johann's picture
Forum: 

I'd like to share some thoughts about Simulationism (the Creative Agenda as per Forge theory).

My little pet theory - which may be nothing new as it's been a long time since the Forge days - is that this creative agenda is attractive - among other things! - because it is 'safe', i.e. it is unlikely to upset you, challenge you, or make you vulnerable.

On Simulationism
I like to think about Simulationism as Celebrationism, i.e. the point of play is to celebrate a particular subject matter, e.g. a setting (like a Superhero universe), a genre (like wuxia), a simulation (of ballistics, for instance) and so on. I'm not quite sure about it, but I think the creative vision of one participant (an auteur GM) also qualifies. Nothing new, really, and even the term celebrationism was floated at the Forge.

On the Safety of various Creative Agendas
Gamism requires stepping up and thus entails the chance of losing. Narrativism requires artistic/creative contribution and entails the chance of rejection. Celebrationism is safe by comparison: as long as you buy into the source material, you are going to do fine, socially.

Another player might out-geek you (knowing more about the MCU etc.) but that does neither sting as much as losing a character nor stress out as much as the need to improvise a cool contribution now.

I speak of experience here because I was another insecure loner as a teen, and the lack of (open) competition in my early roleplaying was a major draw for me. It was 'us' (the players) against the (game) world -- and as a cherry on top, we always won, too. This was due to illusionism, of course.

One major motivation behind illusionism is a desire for safety -- on both sides of the screen. For a GM, improvisation may seem daunting and using illusionist techniques to stay within the prepared content is one way to avoid it. For players, illusionism allows them to be covertly shielded from failure, particularly character death.

I think this desire for safety is part of a *social* agenda, not a creative one, which just happens to align well with Simulationism (which in turn works well with Illusionism, or at least better than Nar or Gam).

A social agenda pursues a social desire (e.g. hooking up with a cute co-player) and could be pursued via activities other than playing an RPG (e.g. hiking).

A common social agenda is being accepted, making friends, hanging out with other people. This is particularly important if none of these things come easy to you. A Simulationist game offers a comparatively safe venue to pursue this social agenda.

*-*-*

A quick observation about 'safe' entertainment…

The desire for 'safe' entertainment (i.e. unlikely to upset you or challenge you) is about as mainstream as you can get: The vast majority of Hollywood movies play it safe and audiences like it that way -- they want to turn off their brains and just enjoy the ride (hence franchises and movie stars -- you know exactly what you'll get with a James Bond movie or a Dwayne Johnson vehicle). Horror is arguably different in this respect.

…and some closing remarks on being insecure:

(1) While insecure people may be drawn to Simulationism, this does not mean the reverse is true, i.e. players who like Simulationism are not automatically insecure. It is a creative agenda, after all, and can be just as challenging creatively as the other agendas.

(2) Insecure people's desire to connect with others, fit in etc., in a safe environment is perfectly legitimate. I formed many lasting friendships through gaming.

(3) Tons of people are insecure (often at some points or in some parts of their lives). It's normal. This post is not intended to deride anyone (nor Simulationism, illusionism, or mainstream Hollywood flicks).

Silmenume's picture

Hi komradebob,

I'd be happy to a break down of "Archipelago". I'll need a day or two re-read and consider the rules. On a side note I think it would be best if we moved this particular conversation to a new thread. I can do it. Anyone can do it. Its all the same to me as long as it gets done. Hopefully I'll have something posted by tomorrow.

Best,

Jay

webtech's picture

AFAIK, the rules are still free and online legitimately.

Yup. If I may make a suggestion, click here: Archipelago III and then hit the "Discuss This" button. That will start a new forum thread for the game.

Silmenume's picture

Hello,

My apologies for not thanking you for making the link available, Tod. Appreciate the effort!

Best,

Jay

DeReel's picture

@Johann : it's rolling dice. It's sticking to the mechanics like a swimmer to the pole of the swimming instructor. It's not making a step without making a PbtA move. It's not venturing too far into fiction.

Am I committing OneTrueWay-ism ? I don't think so. Fiction is unsafe in that the path is less clear, the risk of getting astray is real. Playing safe is not bad, and maybe it lets one concentrate on another type of un-safety (like accepting loss and stuff). But it clearly has not the same qualities attached to it. Often, in a group, you can see various attitudes, depending on the night and mood.

Paul T.'s picture

...groups that are "safe" and at home in an environment of consensus-based play?

I've seen people play while trying really hard to avoid engaging mechanics, dice, or other procedures that inject uncertainty, because therein lies danger.

(This goes hand-in-hand with Vincent Baker's idea that game rules are there to introduce the "unwelcome" into your game.)

komradebob's picture

If you put together both Do the Obvious ( from Play Unsafe) and consensus-based play, you've got a whole lot of player-level challenge going on without the need for mechanics for randomly introducing "unwelcome" elements into play.

That's pretty much what childhood Play Pretend, especially when referencing some kind of inspirational material ( a book, movie, tv show. whatever), amounts to and look at how widely that can vary between wonderful success that people recall fondly years later as adults and those sessions that it absolutely crashed and burned.

Pages