tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post5405391152840823597..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Turning PointAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-91013728042996554432017-07-02T20:20:55.013-06:002017-07-02T20:20:55.013-06:00I too generally think of blocking in terms of acti...I too generally think of blocking in terms of acting but I agree that it's quite apt to describe the writing process. I would think it could, with a little bending of terminology, describe the similar process of natural organization and movement within a role-playing game. The bad blocking example you provide resembles some Wizards D&D modules' writing: precise descriptions of what to say as the players enter each room and little help on what to actually say in response to complex questions. A good DM wants to provide some sense of fluidity to the game environment so that the players' enthusiasm doesn't falter while the DM launches into their soliloquy on the dungeon's fourteenth antechamber. You can see how here too the connection is made between the actual content of the game and the problems of fluidly communicating it. If the DM is entirely in their own head, they won't hear the players' concerns or questions which are really the meat of the game communication-wise.<br />I still struggle myself with answering questions comfortably and easily even after doing plenty of improvisational and scripted theatre. I suppose that sort of thing comes with practice in D&D's particular setting, but it does make me wonder what it would be like to have a director in D&D as distinct from the DM (who I guess is more a cooperative writer/dramaturge/actor/producer in this analogy?)<br />There have been a few times where it could have been useful to have someone tap me on the shoulder and suggest repeating a "scene" but scaring the players more, or adding another choice to make them squirm a bit. But D&D is witnessed as it is created: repeating or reworking just mutes the original emotion. I guess we have to just do our directing on the fly and in our heads.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03496502173819113887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-65263636056662147462017-07-01T12:18:27.477-06:002017-07-01T12:18:27.477-06:00Huh. I've never heard about "blocking&quo...Huh. I've never heard about "blocking" with regard to creative writing (I know it well from my training as an actor). You learn something new every day...<br /><br />I have to say, reading these updates gets me excited to see the final result.<br />: )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.com