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A Question of Agency in the Austen RPG
Jun. 8th, 2010 01:59 pmI feel bad for not writing more on the Jane Austen RPG (see here and here), since the idea provoked a lot of interest.
I became stuck on the question of agency. Who do the players "play"? As many of you know, I have issues with Narrativist games, particularly with player identity and motivation. When I'm in a roleplaying game I want to play a participant in the action, not a member of the Council of Demiurges trying to create a "good story" out of the proceedings. I want to see events through the character's eyes, and choose actions appropriate to his or her desires.
So who would the "player characters" be in an Austen game? At first I thought they'd be women looking for husbands, while there'd be a GM who would play everyone else. Would it make more sense, though, for Mr. Darcy and the rest of them to have dedicated players? Not quite sure, really.
I became stuck on the question of agency. Who do the players "play"? As many of you know, I have issues with Narrativist games, particularly with player identity and motivation. When I'm in a roleplaying game I want to play a participant in the action, not a member of the Council of Demiurges trying to create a "good story" out of the proceedings. I want to see events through the character's eyes, and choose actions appropriate to his or her desires.
So who would the "player characters" be in an Austen game? At first I thought they'd be women looking for husbands, while there'd be a GM who would play everyone else. Would it make more sense, though, for Mr. Darcy and the rest of them to have dedicated players? Not quite sure, really.
