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Old 05-18-2008, 03:31 PM
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Menchi Menchi is offline
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Re: [RPG]: Shock: Social Science Fiction, v1.1, reviewed by Malcolm Craig (4/5)

Quote:
Originally Posted by smascrns View Post
Sorry but I understood almost nothing about the game from your review. For instance, why does it deliver "social science fiction"? How does the game develop from start to finish? What are the aims for the players? And so on.
The thing to remember about Shock is that it is a story game rather than a traditional roleplaying game.

While it has characters - players are more like collaborating authors, using the rules as a framework and guide as to how to tell their stories.

By getting the players to lay down the conflicts in a thematic/metaphorical sense at the beginning of the game, conflicts rarely involve combat, but rather how the characters react to the world(s) created by the game.

In my experience players don't really connect to their characters as much as their characters story.

So you might gloss over a punch-up, but spend a while roleplaying out a philosophical dispute between your protagonist and a fellow player acting as your antagonist.

The dice are rolled when a conflict occurs - and more often than not, that conflict is initiated by social interaction.

I liked the game, but it is a difficult game to play and not really a game for people who like to roleplay characters, per se - it will appeal more to people who like to tell stories.

Conan
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