My Mind Does Go Down Some Odd Paths...

 I was reading a rather hefty tome today and under discussion was post-modernism, with a mention of the mass production of original artwork by the likes of Warhol.

This got me thinking that roleplaying is arguably the most post-modernist expression of creativity possible, but moreover it got me thinking of how we approach our chosen gaming system from the point of view of authenticity.

OK, let me try and explain...

Over the last 40 years, I've seen many games played and some terrible confrontation between players who argue that unless you play it to the letter, in the way the creator intended it, you are not actually playing that game.

However, I cannot think of a game whereby the creators have insisted that you don't adapt their rules as you need them, quite the contrary in fact and so arguably none of us are in fact playing in the same world, thereby each of us creates a unique 'original work', defying the concept of absolutism in a rule set.

We each imagine the world we play in in a unique way and in so doing we construct knowledge which is also unique to each of us. There is no one single way to play any RPG; yes, we may all play D&D but our experiences, even those in a given group are different. Because we are called upon to use our imagination, two people may look at the same character sheet and description of said character and in their mind's eye see something entirely different. 

I find this a little fascinating, and so I am planning a little experiment for the future - two actually.

I want to take a scenario and then create a character and print off several identical sheets, leaving space for a name and a 'sketch'. Each player will get the same sheet and be invited to flesh it out, but under no circumstances should they show the sheets to their fellow players or discuss the stats of the character,

They then play the scenario.

I also want other DM's to do the same, with the same tools at their disposal.

I am interested to see how each player uses the character within the game, remembering that they are all exactly the same in terms of what they can and cannot do.

In a similar way, the way that the DM's will handle the encounters will differ.

Yes, I know I'm a bit odd, but it really does fascinate me.

Equally, I want to get several painters, all with the same figure, identical paints and brushes (all new) and give them say 3 hours with the simple instruction to 'paint this figure'.

I'm interested in seeing what happens in terms of colour, style, and finding out what the painter's inspirations for the colour scheme were, because again they will be effectively creating 'knowledge' themselves rather than following an absolute and undeniable template.

Each of those figures or games could be claimed as 'the original article'.

Well, I'll leave you to think on that. Maybe some of you will find it interesting, maybe not... There's no right or wrong opinion :-)