Thumbs down to Clan Bored for actively discouraging player stories. Outcast, you may think you're not a GM suck-up, but you are, since for you, the world starts and ends with what they do. You don't realize how player contributions actually effect the Clan Lord world, because it's not obvious enough for your rather simplistic mind to pick up. I also have witnessed that while players have very little at their disposal to do interesting and engaging story work, the few that struggle to do it are gradually extending the envelope for all of us. Realize that a lot of stories "suck" because there is so little that can be done by players alone. Bitching about this is all well and good, but actually making an effort to change it is more likely to improve the game. Words are cheap, deeds are hard.

Of course, let's be honest. A person like Outcast doesn't care about stories, he just wants action and primal conflict. These things have a place, mind you, and that's fine for the type of game HE wants. Like a lot of people playing Clan Lord, everyone thinks they know exactly what the game needs, and Outcast is no exception. What he suggests is the usual recipe: remove the things he doesn't like, and add more of what he does like. What this neglects to notice is a game like Clan Lord is best when it provides multiple, non-exclusive modalities for player enjoyment. This means there should be room for the action / melee lovers, as well as people who enjoy participating in a dynamic narrative. Right now, Clan Lord is poor on both counts, though slightly better on the first. The trick is to improve both. It's not a mutually exclusive endeavor.

And, there's no winning with Outcast, really. If a player makes an effort to do anything other than whack critters, it's dismissed out of hand. If a player persists with their effort, and Delta Tao acknowledges the work, it's dismissed as favoritism. So basically, according to Outcast, players shouldn't do anything but sit back and watch what GMs do. A fine example of this nonsense is the "petition" with affiliations. Everyone should be able to get an affiliation, according to Clan Bored, not just people who actually make an effort to form a group. This doesn't really make any sense to me at all. Affiliations don't DO anything. It's a small tip of the hat Delta Tao does for players who work hard to contribute something back to the game to benefit other players. Sure these groups, like the Bards, or the Rangers, or the Knights don't benefit everyone, but they are valid social structures, and social structures are positive force in the game. But of course, Outcast and the editorial staff of Clan Bored want something for nothing. "Give us affiliations! Even though we don't do anything but complain and rank whore." Affiliations are for active groups. If you kids want to make punch-line groups, use a clan, or use a tattoo. Same difference in the end, really. If you want an affiliation, make a group, and put in the time and the work. Period. Just like getting ranks, which don't fall from the sky, affiliations involve a commitment. The fact that a human being at Delta Tao makes the decision isn't a bad thing in my mind. Delta Tao's fetish with totally automating all aspects of the world is a fool's errand in the end, since really compelling and interesting content is always going to have to come from a human mind.

I'm not exactly the most IC person in the game (most of the time, anyway) but I don't take active glee in disturbing how others enjoy the game. It's totally fine if someone has no desire or interest in story or narrative. I find some of the "stories" in the lands to be dreadfully childish or painfully boring. But, to each their own. I just avoid the stuff I don't like, and I focus on the stuff I do like. I guess the same is true of Outcast, who clearly likes one thing: criticizing. Unfortunately, his enjoyment has a diminishing aspect on other's play. If a group is engaged in mind-numbingly-dull role play, there no need to tell them how "stupid" their "story" is. Not only is this really OOC, it is not helpful, and it's just downright rude and inconsiderate.

It is better for everyone to be expending energy to extend, participate and experience Clan Lord in as many ways as possible. If we follow the Outcast model, we should all sit around and bitch, until Delta Tao wakes up and does the Right Thing, and we all suddenly have endless amounts of fun. Sorry, I favor the first strategy, if no other reason than I've seen it actually work.

It's a pity too, since Clan Bored was turning into a fine general source of news about the game, which is sorely needed. I guess the tone was getting too close to sounding like the editorial board was enjoying the game, and not hating it. Being ironic and detached about Clan Lord is not the giant intellectual leap some Clan Bored writers may think it is.

posted 1:17 PM | link |