Hey all! I know, I know, The silent brooding type is writing a blog post, please try not to die of shock, that’s a lot of extra paperwork, and I just don’t think I want to do that.
On a more serious note, I’m here to talk a little bit about perception, story design, feedback (Yes! We actually read and discuss it!) and the concept of becoming the story. “All perception of truth is the detection of an analogy” - Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau compares perception to an analogy, implying that there is no real way to look at truth in an unbiased way. On a philosophical level, it means that as humans we have to actively push through our biases to look at the fact of the matter.
That said, perception is a difficult topic to talk about because of how elusive the space in between perception and truth can be. Over the last five years we’ve been running our game, we’ve had several moments of specific players or groups seeming to “get all the plot,” and I expect there will be more of that in the future. It’s an universal and unavoidable issue when running a large game like Dystopia Rising is. It’s easy to look at groups that get plot, and only see the fruits of their labor rather than the whole picture.
One example I’ll use from my own experience is any plot that got sent towards the Fallow Hope when my character Shiloh was still alive and in charge of the group. We had three of five organizers in the group at the time, and across our first four-ish years. We got feedback every time the group followed a plot that we were either only writing for our group or that it was easy to get plot as a group completely discounting the added work we wrote into stories that targeted the Fallow Hope. I have on many occasions and will again always make sure that groups I’m affiliated with have extra hurdles to get the benefits of plots so that those outside of the group don’t think I’m making it easy for my group to succeed.
That said, please try to remember that not only are your organizers humans, your fellow players are also human. If you think a group is getting more plot directed at them than you are, please reach out to us so we can talk. Either the plot was a submitted personal plot request, or the group chased the plot that became available through the game. If only a single group follows a hook, story wise, it makes sense that those players are the point of contact for the next layer of that plot. My inbox is always open, and while I may seem like a quiet loner, I value transparency in storytelling, and I’m happy to explain anything ranging from motivations for the story I’ve written to “Why did you do this silly slap-happy thing at 3 in the morning on 2 hours of sleep and only 1 cup of coffee.” Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Caroline@DystopiaRisingAR.com or to me through discord and we’ll talk it through. :)
That said I will never ask a group of players to stop chasing plot that’s interesting to them. It isn’t fair to expect other players to step aside in a game that they also pay for. I also will never ask any player to give up something they’ve worked for just to make others happy. That isn’t to say that I won’t occasionally ask players to steer their roleplay to be more inclusive, nor that I’m unwilling to help two players steer their characters to avoid a tense situation. Steering is a valuable tool when implemented properly.
I am going to be a little blunt here, but bear with me because it will hopefully give some insight into the direction that I tend to give our writers, and the stories that I tell. When I write for DR, I write with zero expectations of who will run after it, unless it’s a personal plot request of some sort (PFAs, and Master skill requests fall under this as well.) I take stock of the average reaction by a Crystal Creek character to the type of story I write, and then write my intended direction both towards that actual reaction and towards the opposite reaction so that my bases are covered when one of your characters licks the plot.
With that, I also direct writers to tailor their stories in a similar way. We have a hook to grab folks who seem interested in a particular story, an intended goal of the mod, and how to proceed once players touch it. I’m sure the writers will tell you that more than once during redlining, I make them write either more or less information about what they are working on, and that I am always asking what path they plan for the story to take. A common comment they get from me is “what story are you telling with this mod,” and we build up from there.
When it does come down to personal plot requests, less is more, and we do our best to take that spark you send in and build it up to a satisfying end. I personally love writing PPR type mods because it gives me a chance to do a deep dive on a character I might otherwise have never seen a particular side of. It’s fulfilling to me to share stories with you, even if I’m not playing a character involved in that story.
This sort of flows right into the idea of becoming the story. This concept is a fairly “nordic” concept (This video is a really good, short talk on the concept given by Bjarke Pedersen in 2016.) The short summary is that in order for us to tell stories together, we need players to touch and buy into the world. Without that, we are missing half of the formula, and the story falls flat. To buy in is to become part of the living world that we build, full of consequences for every action, whether those consequences are “good,” “bad,” or “neutral” will push and drive the story towards its end. You the players have the ability to not only affect the outcome, but dictate where the story goes from there. Each and everyone of you has this power, and as a storyteller, it’s my job to make you feel enabled to use this power. I can’t tell you how many times shit happens because a player pulls me into the kitchen of Kettlebottom real quick to tell me they and a group bled into a cup, and blessed it in the name of a certain thief, or that they want to weaponize a disease or feral iron boars to take out an enemy. Sending grave dust mixed in with sugar is another good example of player initiative driving the story. Once again, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have a story idea.
The last topic I want to cover is feedback., I know we ask for feedback after every event, and we rarely get much anymore, unless something went seriously sideways, or something went seriously well. That said, while those types of feedback are great, even little nagging issues that you may have are welcome too. Observations and interpretations of our actions as organizers, or as storytellers help us streamline our process and stories. We won’t always email you back, but we do always look at and discuss every piece of feedback we receive. It’s vital for the betterment of the game overall. If there’s ever a bit of information you would like to talk about, and we haven’ emailed you to get more info on it, please drop us a line, and we will set aside time to discuss it in whatever format you find is the best fit for you (except obviously in person right now. If I had a teleporter to get to where each of you are I totally would add it into the arsenal of options for having these conversations, while safely maintaining social distance.) As a side note, we are data nerds as you know, and if you leave feedback about a topic, and we track the very thing you are concerned about, I’m more than happy to show you that data and give you context to understand what it means.
All of that said, we are human, and we are ever tweaking our processes towards a goal of being a well oiled machine. We are adding an announcement room where you can see hook info for specific mods. We’re hoping that by making it more visible, you will have more opportunity to go and interact with the hooks/the plot that you find interesting. Second, we are going to be scheduling an hour of common time each game like the “Chow time” we had at the Iron Prison. Ideally this will be a time for crews to work together and touch base with each other/do some trading etc.
At the end of the day, we are just nerds who want to tell stories with you. Check out our action request page, and send in the stories you are interested in telling, and please feel free to reach out if you have concerns. I would much rather address concerns than let them fester. Finally, we are because you are. I know we say this a lot, but this concept of Ubuntu is the driving force of community. Without you there would be no stories, or shared experiences, just a ball of potentials. Much love to you all.