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This is a video about a solo gameplay loop that does not rely on any specific system.
I haven’t tried this yet. I have, for the moment, arrived at a point that feels fairly similar.
I think there’s a danger here for me to think that other people have ‘the answer’ to ‘how do I play’
If there’s one thing I’m learning it’s that there is not right/wrong and not even an optimal way of playing; what works for me depends very much on the story I want to tell and the mood I'm in.
One of my goals is to rediscover the ability to immerse myself in stories, just me and my brain and seeing where it takes me. In the interest of finding (and following) my bliss, I am keeping this in hand in case I get stuck and need to unstick myself.
There may be a time when I’ll go back to this loop deliberately, but for now, my 12 months ahead list is filled out until the end of 2027, so… not any time soon.
Below are my notes, rather than a mere transcription, because I can haz thoughts.
( START, my thoughts on, because not everybody wants to watch/rewatch videos )
I think I can now put the finger on the problem a little bit better. This is a framework distilled from how one person actually plays, which means it's a good average for that person, and not the worst average for other people, but the moment you stop thinking 'what will be best for my story' (where best != great outcome for the character, but an interesting story) and instead go 'ok, so the next step on the flowchart is' you don't exactly stop playing, but you're shifting into a more formalised form of play.
It's not 'bad' play. There are so many ways of playing and some of them DO have very strict rules, but the beauty of solo RPG is that you can be incredibly flexible. Limiting yourself as part of play (the character has limited hitpoints, they lose HP when hit and can die, they have limited resources/skills, not everyone in the world is friendly) is part of what creates the fun, otherwise you have a walking simulator rather than a game. (That can be fun, too). Limiting yourself arbitrarily about what kind of moves you make *can* be part of gameplay (when you're playing a specific game with those rules) of if you tend to meander and roll on 'do I step on an ant', but right now, observing where I would make a decision _as a writer_ and exploring what I *could* roll on are a big part of the fun for me.
I haven’t tried this yet. I have, for the moment, arrived at a point that feels fairly similar.
I think there’s a danger here for me to think that other people have ‘the answer’ to ‘how do I play’
If there’s one thing I’m learning it’s that there is not right/wrong and not even an optimal way of playing; what works for me depends very much on the story I want to tell and the mood I'm in.
One of my goals is to rediscover the ability to immerse myself in stories, just me and my brain and seeing where it takes me. In the interest of finding (and following) my bliss, I am keeping this in hand in case I get stuck and need to unstick myself.
There may be a time when I’ll go back to this loop deliberately, but for now, my 12 months ahead list is filled out until the end of 2027, so… not any time soon.
Below are my notes, rather than a mere transcription, because I can haz thoughts.
( START, my thoughts on, because not everybody wants to watch/rewatch videos )
I think I can now put the finger on the problem a little bit better. This is a framework distilled from how one person actually plays, which means it's a good average for that person, and not the worst average for other people, but the moment you stop thinking 'what will be best for my story' (where best != great outcome for the character, but an interesting story) and instead go 'ok, so the next step on the flowchart is' you don't exactly stop playing, but you're shifting into a more formalised form of play.
It's not 'bad' play. There are so many ways of playing and some of them DO have very strict rules, but the beauty of solo RPG is that you can be incredibly flexible. Limiting yourself as part of play (the character has limited hitpoints, they lose HP when hit and can die, they have limited resources/skills, not everyone in the world is friendly) is part of what creates the fun, otherwise you have a walking simulator rather than a game. (That can be fun, too). Limiting yourself arbitrarily about what kind of moves you make *can* be part of gameplay (when you're playing a specific game with those rules) of if you tend to meander and roll on 'do I step on an ant', but right now, observing where I would make a decision _as a writer_ and exploring what I *could* roll on are a big part of the fun for me.
