τάλαντον mods (headmastered) wrote in ditchingclass, @ 2012-09-04 22:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | !mod |
mod post: don't be a dick (and here's how!)
Metagaming:Any out of character action made by a player's character which makes use of knowledge that the character is not meant to be aware of. (Metagaming while taking part in relatively competitive games, or those with a more serious tone, is typically not well received, because a character played by a metagamer does not act in a way that reflects the character's in-game experiences and back-story.) (from wikipedia)
Active metagaming is tricky, especially when a game runs a little slower than most, like ours. It's easy to forget that our characters maybe haven't learned about something in game canon that we have been talking about and planning for. Suddenly a character knowing that the Headmaster likes to cross dress at night when the only time it's been discussed is on Plurk, for example. This is one of the cases where we know it can happen, and that it can be fixed fairly easily.
Passive metagaming falls more into a region that involves stacking your character much higher than necessary when it comes to their powers, skills, knowledge, etc to the point where they can "break" the game. This can be tougher to rectify, because a player who does this is maybe not as interested in the general health of the game and the fun of others, so much as being in the game to "win." Putting a character higher on the power level scale, for instance, to ensure that when Rex comes to put them in a time out, they don't have to comply.
Powergaming:A style of interacting with games or game-like systems with the aim of maximising progress towards a specific goal, to the exclusion of other considerations such as (in video games, boardgames, and roleplaying games) storytelling, atmosphere and camaraderie. Due to its focus on the letter of the rules over the spirit of the rules, it is often seen as unsporting, un-fun, or unsociable. This behaviour is most often found in games with a wide range of game features, lengthy campaigns or prize tournaments such as role-playing, massively multiplayer or collectible games. (from wikipedia)
Active: fight threads! One tagger attempts and finishes a strike without allowing the other time or room to try to counter -- essentially leaving out OOC contact. In journal RP, things get a little foggy when it comes to fight threads, because we don't want to harm another character without the player's consent, but we also want to stay true to the rules of the game because we know we can have a lot of fun when our character's choices lead to dire consequences for them.
Passive powergaming is a little fuzzier because it pertains to a sort of general social contract within a game. You might call this metagaming, but we don't think that defines this action very well. This is when a player assumes a thing is true just because they/their character haven't experienced it directly within game play. In itself this isn't a big deal, either. Where it becomes a big deal is when a player/character puts that knowledge into play, essentially controlling the game by making something game canon that isn't necessarily true. Just because you haven't seen a teacher grading your work, doesn't mean that they never do it.
There is ONE simple difference. Handwaving is all of the passive examples above, after you've asked the other player(s) if it is allowed.
Assuming that because you haven't seen something threaded out / haven't threaded it out yourself, that something hasn't happened or hasn't been prevented or otherwise taken action. We can't cover everything you guys are going to think up, and we wouldn't consider trying anyway (you're all rather annoyingly creative, you little buggers). It is unfortunately one of the drawbacks to running NPCs like this, and trying to let things grow naturally.
Providing information about your character that's you've marked clearly as what you're comfortable others assuming/acting on.
Making a statement about a character / game canon that you haven't read anywhere and don't know to be completely true. Ask someone, just in case!Examples of things you can include on your character's journal, their wiki page, or in a post to the OOC community to allow others to handwave:Mrs. Polus is nearly always in her office from 7am to 7:45am.
Ben sometimes wears far too much cologne.
Hardison tends to let his classes out a little early, and sometimes forgets who he gives bathroom passes to, which makes it easy for students to skip out.
Examples of things you shouldn't assume simply because you haven't seen them happen yet:Rex never showers.
The students have never had english class, because Mrs. Polus has never posted.
Detention is boring and nobody's allowed to talk.
Mr. Eliot doesn't allow us to shower after PE.