I hope you enjoy the presentation!
VTM the Aftermath - An RPG Affinity space presentation
Monday, April 24, 2017
Affinity Space Culmination
For this aspect of the project, I decided to create the presentation via a tool I'm using for my Art Classes, Voki. There are some really funny things that come about while using this media; however, it is something that I love to use and the kids love to see. It is simple, and they can create their own avatars to interact with. Some of the dialogue may seem stilted, but for me and the students, this is part of the charm of the program; it reminds me of Max Headroom. I know, I'm dating myself again. This media type has some pretty cool quirks, not the least of which is the heads follow your mouse.
I hope you enjoy the presentation!
VTM the Aftermath - An RPG Affinity space presentation
I hope you enjoy the presentation!
VTM the Aftermath - An RPG Affinity space presentation
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Cool approach to your affinity space project. It reminded me of a Black Mirror episode. How did you come up with your own character? Creating a character in RPGs always takes me wayyy too long, it's half the fun. I think it would be interesting to have some specific objectives during character creation, such as it most have a profession.
ReplyDeleteAs game master, did you run into any difficult challenges? Did all participants comply? Anything you would do differently? Where there any classroom interactions that took place for reflection? I think adding a dice into the mix would also be fun, to help randomize encounters.
Sorry, that was posted by me. Not sure why it shows "Unknown."
DeleteThanks for the comments Robert. Yes the characters were ask to provide a profession or a specific hobby that they participated in a great deal. This was just to give the players a general direction from which to operate as the event started to unfold. This was a unique start to the gaming experience and a first time for me doing something this way. The first Big Challenge running a game like this was getting the players all together at one time for more interactive chatting period this never happened. There were quite a few times that two or three or able to get together at the same time but never all four. One of the other biggest challenges was trying to keep the story moving when people were checking emails and looking at Facebook at different times. This played into the story and I let the time pass so it wasn't a huge problem, however, time management then became the biggest challenge. If I was going to do anything differently comma I would probably make sure that everyone met face-to-face first comma just to get an organizational idea of maybe a specific schedule time that everyone needed to check their Facebook pages. In this case probably making sure that they check their Facebook pages at dusk and then again at least one more time during the night maybe even just before sunrise to keep the idea of the story in semi real-time going on. For this one I did not transfer anything to the classroom comma however comma I made some notes as to what to do to use this next year for my 5th graders for both the creative writing Club then I'm going to sponsor and for Art Club in coming up with characters for them to do creative portraits of. Depending on who my principal is since we're getting a new one, I might be inclined to be even add this to the creative writing Club. The best thing about this experience was viewing RPGs in a new and fresh Light. I am certainly going to be incorporated social media and email again when I run games in the future.
ReplyDeleteTo answer that first question, character creation is something that has always been easy but also involved for me. I too loved character creation. This character, the one that the players interacted with most, was an easy write up, though. I knew what I and the players needed for this specific scenario comma so he was Far easier to generate than a regular player character. It also helps that I wasn't afraid of killing them off if I needed to. You don't generally feel that way about your own specific individual characters that you're going to be playing.
Thanks again for all the helpful feedback and for the questions. They gave me a lot to think about.
Kait,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interest game/affinity space and an equally interesting way to present it! The idea of creating a character that appears to live in our universe yet is part of a role-playing game weirded me out at first. So much blending of reality and fiction would mess with my head in a game like this. Still, though, I find it to be an interesting and new (for me) type of RPG that is worth exploring further. Your directions for joining the space were very clear and simple. The complexity lies within the character development, I noticed. What was it like living a dual life through Facebook characters? Did you use the same character for multiple RPG’s or did you have to switch every time? Also how did you get into playing this type of game?
Though you didn’t say this outright, it seems that the strengths of your affinity space were the ability to be fluid with leadership in a story and open-ended creativity in storytelling mechanics. I wonder what you found to be the limitations of your space? Was the email portion for questions ever cumbersome?
After getting a taste of your contributions in the space it became clearer to me how an RPG such as yours functioned. I was able to get a picture in my head of the roles assumed in game and how players maintained the fourth wall through email. I enjoyed learning that you yourself eventually stepped up to leading a story in your space. When the characters took over the narration, did they take it anywhere that surprised you or compromised your developed story plot?
Your examples of Gee and Hayes tied in really well to your space. The idea that leaders could be resources, but also could reciprocate the roles of regular players and the regular players could become leaders, too, was a unique aspect of the storytelling in your affinity space. It was also clear to see how these role shifts and participation transform content and interactions between players in the game and space.
Kait, thank you for sharing. What an interesting choice for your affinity space! I have never been exposed to role playing games like this and it was interesting to hear about your experiences but also gain more insight into this type of activity. The idea of creating a fictional character in real world spaces and outside of a traditional gaming environment is intriguing. I can imagine a lot of applications for something like this in ELA classrooms, especially pertaining to literature.
ReplyDeleteYour participation seemed to revolve primarily around the role of storyteller with other participants then responding to your prompts and thus moving the plot along. You commented that at certain times the characters actually lead the plot line with the storyteller taking more of an observer role than a director position. This connects back to one of the strengths of this experience, in that there if flexibility both in roles and story content. It seems like a very fluid environment which add to the intrigue as nothing is scripted or predetermined.
Although a unique choice for an AS, it contains several of Gee and Hayes’s affinity space elements. Content is regularly transformed by participation. This is demonstrated through the evolution of stories. Roles are reciprocal as previously mentioned in the dynamic between storytellers and characters. Lastly, leaders are resources and provide direction throughout the game.
Thanks again. A very interesting choice of spaces. It has definitely broadened my horizons!
Cool presentation. Haven’t heard of Voki—from the bit that I browsed about the site, it looks like a rather great way for anyone to create presentations. The ability to create all different types of avatars adds a creative and immersive element to the design. Your affinity space is really interesting. Assuming the role of a fictional character and collaborating with others to develop characters and tell a story.
ReplyDeleteSounds like tabletop D&D, which I have to admit I have never played, though I understand the storytelling dynamic. I have the rulebook. Does that count? I have played countless RPG video games and even though being able to create a character doesn’t have any effect on the gameplay itself, I could spend a lot of time creating my character. It is part of the immersion. The way the masquerade is structured and played out is similar to ideas that I have come across about how a writer can flesh out a character and their motivations. By creating a facebook page and email for the character, the writer can get into the character’s head, making them more real. It is also a clever marketing gimmick for writer’s to use as promotional fun for their work. It is cool that the game has emergent properties. It is a great way to drive creativity.
Very interesting! I haven't heard of a game like this before. I mean, I've heard of RPGs, but not one that's based online using social media and email. So it's about vampires? I watched the presentation a couple of times but I'm still piecing a couple things together. You create a persona and communicate online--what's the end goal? How do people become more skillful? How long does the game usually last?
ReplyDeleteSorry for all the questions. I'm kind of confused as to how it was an affinity space. Isn't it part of the game itself?
Thanks for sharing! I'm really curious now. I liked your creative approach to the project.
Thanks for the comments, Paul. This is a tabletop RPG using the Whitewolf Storyteller gaming system. It uses dice like dnd; however, it is really story intensive. Yes, it is about vampires. The characters start out as regular people. Characters are made as a rough sketch, hence an email, a facebook page and a forming personality. Usually, in non-tech driven play, I would have the people participating generate these characters around the table, using paper character sheets. I would then take them through their "prologue" i.e. how they became a vamp, individually or in a group, however the character choices dictated. This time, however, I wanted to use tech as the major platform for gameplay to begin the prologues. The point of the story is for the characters to evolve, dealing with the challenges of their new existence: how will they survive, how will they interact with family and friends, what will happen to their jobs, how will they change? People would become more skillful as they try to interact as their characters, delve into where they want their characters to go, drive the story forth, encounter the antagonists, get their characters through each challenge while becoming more skilled at their various talents and abilities. (have you played tabletop RPG's before? It is right along those lines, just with more emphasis on character development-kind of the difference between a drama and an action movie.) The game can last from one 4 hour session to weekly 7 hour sessions over the course of months or even years for a good game. (it's what I do instead of sports watching, tv watching, or other hobbies)
DeleteI used this as an affinity space due to the dual nature of the postings. People came together in the shared space, slowly revealing what had gone on in the background: their research into their characters backgrounds, decisions they made for the personalities of their characters, places they were from, etc. This was revealed in how they chose to respond on the media they chose. The exchange of information was simply done through "avatars"/their characters, rather than using their own personas. There was a space for the characters and a space for the players to interact with each other and with the storyteller where it wasn't part of the story. It would have looked a little different if the two newbie players that asked to join had actually taken part.
As it was, 3 of the four players were veteran players and did not have as many questions as newbie players would have at the start of the game. Luck of the draw (or lack thereof) on that one.
During a regular game-play session in face-to-face, players drive how the plot will be moving by their choices and reactions to the environmentals of the story. Moving most of the interactions to the ether created an interesting disconnect between the players, but quicker connection between the characters. That was surprisingly instantaneous as they had a common instant interaction.
I realize it was a different take on an affinity space than most of the other ones, but after playing and game mastering for so many years, the parallels between rpg's and affinity spaces was so strong, I wanted to try this out and see where it went. Hope this answers your questions? :-)
I must admit, I was totally lost. I had no idea there was a board game and dice. I thought the game was totally online and you sent each other emails as characters and created Facebook pages for the characters for interaction and that was the game.
DeleteI've never played a table top RPG. I've always been curious to try out D&D because it's the game that everyone knows.
Thank you for elaborating! I just went through the presentation, and it makes way more sense to me now.
Hello Kait,
ReplyDeleteIt is awesome how immersive the character are in Vampire the Masquerade: The Aftermath, that is an good way to ensure engagement in the affinity space if members interact as their avatars, because they have ownership of those characters.
I think you were correct to point out that is AS is different than most. The level of developing a character just to join the space would be equal to being an insider in most other AS. The need for membership in other platforms, like Facebook and email, increases the ownership members can take in the AS because they have different spaces to flush out their character.
You contributions as a storyteller are immense, first you needed to plan the outline for the story and provide other players that information. Then you needed to react to the actions of the players to keep the narrative moving and incorporate decisions made by players seamlessly with your outline. All of this needs to be done in a timely manner of the narrative is bogged down.
The strengths of this AS seem to be in the immersive nature. Players have the chance to create detailed back stories for characters and to embody those characters in digital spaces like Facebook. You also highlighted a player that is taking inspiration from the character in the art the player is making in the physical world.
You made three strong connections to the Gee and Hayes text:
1. The final narrative is created by the interactions between story teller and players.
2. Because of the relationship between the storyteller and players the roles of each are reciprocal, storytellers launch a narrative, the players actions change the narrative course, then the storyteller has to react to those decisions and readjust the narrative course.
3. This make the leadership of the storyteller porous because the storyteller is only a guide with the major actions determined by the decisions of the players.
Thank you for your presentation and analysis, I am very intrigued by this style of game, it seems like a lot of fun to not only develop a character but then embody that character in virtual spaces.
Great job,
Darren
Great job Kait! You gave a great presentation on your time in the affinity space. It was so interesting to hear about it your time because your space was definitely than most.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you took a lot of time to contribute to the affinity space because of the storytelling aspect of it. This all took time and it seems as though it was successful.
It was clear that the strength of the affinity space was the immersive nature. There are so many ways to create detailed stories for the characters and there are ways to connect it to the outside world.
You had great connections to Gee and Hayes. It showed how your affinity space was a strong space to belong to because you really got something out of it. The storytelling allowed for communication between members.
Hello Kait, Thank you for sharing your presentation. Very neat presentation and game! I never knew that there was such a type of game out there that was so malleable. It sounds as though players have a lot of freedom within the game itself. Pretty cool and empowering. I know that when players/learners are able to create their own connections that the game itself becomes quite strong. Within this connection you talk about how players would communicate outside of the game and further the bonds that are established. Very cool. I can see many of the aspects of Gee and Hayes here at work. Do you think that you would continue on in this space? Again thank you for the presentation! Great job
ReplyDeleteHi Kait, this was a very fascinating look into a genre of gaming that I was completely unfamiliar with. Your approach to this project was very cool! I laughed when you had said that the characters reminded you of Max Headroom – glad there’s someone else in the class old enough to remember that guy!
ReplyDeleteI thought you tied in Gee and Hayes very well into your presentation and you clearly had a very good understanding of their work and how it ties into your own affinity space. I was very interested in the screenshots from the Facebook dialogues that I wanted to see more. I was curious as to whether there were any conflicts that arose during these conversations. Since I am unfamiliar with the intricacies of role playing games, it has made me want to investigate into this genre further. I was also unfamilar with Voki before I saw your presentation. It looks to be a good fit for someone who is needing custom avatars created.
Well done!