Levity IV A Framework for interactive storytelling and roleplaying games Concept Draft by Roberto Grassi Chapter II The Pillars of Levity Levity IV by Roberto Grassi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Addendum One, I would like to thank Francesco Zani, who helped me to translate this second chapter. Two, a lot of people has been involved in many discussions around most of the elements I m trying to explain in these slides. When I ll start the writing of the finale version of the manual I ll try to cite them all. Three, someone asked me a sort of ludo/biblio/videography and/or reference articles. I ll try to do my best. I «play» with fiction and related games since I was 1 (you know, «Once upon a time there was» and stuff like that).
Levity IV THE PILLARS OF LEVITY
Table of Content Levity IV Narration Games The pillars of Levity Creating your own system Simple game systems ready Considerations over social aspects Levity relations with Other worlds Definition, general aspects and application domain The process of fiction generation The three 'essences' The three Powers Fixed Systems Variable systems Management of Information during game Ludic Enviroment Educational Environment Family Environment Players Groups Changing systems according to players groups Comics Cinema Theatre Truth and aesthetic at game table Validated and Non- Validated Fiction Levity in one page Your first rpg system Introducing game economy Complex game systems School Environment Working Environment <Theatre> Environment Interactive Fiction Roleplaying Games CYOA - books Personal Imaginary Space and Shared Imaginary Space Traditional storytelling The validation sequence TV Series
The Pillars of Levity - I The first chapter introduced the basics elements for narration games by isolating some features: They re games in which the fiction is generated through an incremental process. A validation mechanism that allows something to be «true for everybody» must be in place. This mechanism might be called system (I ll also use the term game configuration ) Generated fiction is considered «beautiful» and «realistic» as much as players consider it to be. They re the only judges of it.
The Pillars of Levity - II In the following slides I ll now introduce the foundations of Levity («The Pillars») that allow the Narrator to control everything already mentioned and create their own system. The fundamental elements are: The Three Essences, focusing on what the players really want to obtain from the fiction. The Three Powers, focusing on how what the Game System is really allowing them to do.
The Pillars of Levity - III This chapter is, perhaps, the most important because the most relevant concepts of Levity are described here. All the following chapters build on the elements first introduced here. For these reasons, it s very important to understand the concepts and terms used in this context. I ll try to explain them in the best way I can.
Levity IV Chapter II: «The pillars of Levity» THE THREE ESSENCES
Table of Content Levity IV Il gioco di narrazione The pillars of Levity Creating your own system Simple game systems ready Considerations over social aspects Levity relations with Other worlds Definition, general aspects and application domain The process of fiction generation The three 'essences' The three Powers Fixed Systems Variable systems Management of Information during game Ludic Enviroment Educational Environment Family Environment Players Groups Changing systems according to players groups Fumetti Cinema Theatre Truth and aesthetic at game table Validated and Non- Validated Fiction Levity in one page Your first rpg system Introducing game economy Complex game systems School Environment Working Environment <Theatre> Environment Interactive Fiction Roleplaying Games CYOA - books Personal Imaginary Space and Shared Imaginary Space Traditional storytelling The validation sequence TV Series
The three essences The First Essence: «What you desire to be true in the fiction?» The Second Essence : «In order to make it true you have to say it explicitely, it cannot be tacit.» The Third Essence : «What you don t say explicitly may never become true, in the fiction.»
«What you desire to be true in the fiction?» This is the primary driving force in this conceptualization. If a player does not desire for something to be true in the fiction, no fiction can be generated (or, at least, no interesting fiction). The players have to desire for something to be true (the prince MUST save the princess, the evil man MUST pay for his crimes, the mistery MUST be solved, etc) It is important for the players to have a desire to create and to modify the fiction to achieve what they want. It is also important to consider that their desires might «clash» in some way: This will determine the raising of «conflicts».
«What you desire to be true in the fiction?» CCC BBB DDD Fiction AAA
«To make something true you have to say it explicitely!» Desiring something is not enough. To make it true you have to say it explicitely. This, and only this, will be evaluated by other players and the game system.
«To make something true you have to say it explicitely!» The player wants that what he has imagined and desired to be true in the fiction. When his turn comes, he esplicitly says it. The game system will say how much of what he said will become «true» EEE EEE? EEE Fiction
«What you don t say explicitly may never become true, in the fiction!» One thing to consider: If you don t tell explicitely what you want to happen, your desire might never become true. Or worse: Someone might explore that detail in the opposite direction.
«What you don t say explicitly may never become true, in the fiction!» CCC BBB ABC ABC Fiction AAA
Levity IV Chapter II: «The pillars of Levity» THE THREE POWERS
Table of Content Levity IV Il gioco di narrazione The pillars of Levity Creating your own system Simple game systems ready Considerations over social aspects Levity relations with Other worlds Definition, general aspects and application domain The process of fiction generation The three 'essences' The three Powers Fixed Systems Variable systems Management of Information during game Ludic Enviroment Educational Environment Family Environment Players Groups Changing systems according to players groups Fumetti Cinema Theatre Truth and aesthetic at game table Validated and Non- Validated Fiction Levity in one page Your first rpg system Introducing game economy Complex game systems School Environment Working Environment <Theatre> Environment Interactive Fiction Roleplaying Games CYOA - books Personal Imaginary Space and Shared Imaginary Space Traditional storytelling The validation sequence TV Series
The Three Powers I ve been a bit generic up to now. It s now time to get to the point. The Three Powers are the fundamental «bones» for the framework, and each derived gamesystem will have to define and deal with them. If you do not understand this chapter you wont understand how to configure Levity at its best. The Three powers are: Power of Narration Power of Opposition Power of Resolution (or Power of Decision) The Powers are always assigned by a special player that I call «The Narrator». «The Narrator» may vary during the game, or can always be one single player. The configuration of Powers can be changed during the game (leading to a new ones). The games built upon the Levity Framework have Power configurations that cannot be modified.
Levity IV Chapter II: «The pillars of Levity» THE THREE POWERS THE POWER OF NARRATION
The First Power The Power of Narration What is the «Power of Narration»? It s the right assigned to a player to narrate and create fiction that needs to be validated. You don t have fiction (and you have no game) if there isn t at least one player narrating something. At least one player needs to have this power, otherwise the fiction is never generated. In traditional role-playing games this power is usually assigned to all player on a «turn based» approach.
The First Power The Power of Narration The Power of Narration must be associated to a Narration Scope. In other words, the player holding the Power of Narration, must know the extension of it, by knowing WHAT he/she can narrate and what he/she CANNOT. The Narration Scope, determined by the Narrator, may be ample or small, but must always exist.
The First Power The Power of Narration Let s have a look at some examples of Power of Narration and associated Narration Scope. (Narrator talking at Luigi) Ex. 1: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on everything. You can tell whatever you like: complete access to the fiction and its constituting elements. Ex. 2: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on your character. You can tell what your character thinks, feels and desires. Ex. 3: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on your character and on the surronding environment. You can say what your character thinks, feels and desires and may interact with the environment telling us what happens. Ex. 4: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on the scene. You can tell what the characters do, who enters and leaves the scene and what happens to the scenery. Ex. 5: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on the scene but not on the characters. You can tell who enters and leaves the scene but not what they do once they have entered the scene. You can tell what happens to the scenery.
The first power The Power of Narration The power of Narration and the Scope of Narration, basically, define one of the levels of the fiction and the elements in it. Said Scope defines the inviolable limit of the space in which the player can narrate whatever he desires. Ex. 1: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on everything. You can tell whatever you like. You have complete access to the fiction and its constituting elements. Fiction
The first power The Power of Narration The power of Narration and the Scope of Narration, basically, define one of the levels of the fiction and the elements in it. Said Scope defines the inviolable limit of the space in which the player can narrate whatever he desires. Ex. 2: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on your character. You can tell what your character thinks, feels and desires. Fiction
The first power The Power of Narration The power of Narration and the Scope of Narration, basically, define one of the levels of the fiction and the elements in it. Said Scope defines the inviolable limit of the space in which the player can narrate whatever he desires. Ex. 3: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on your character and on the surronding environment. You can say what your character thinks, feels and desires and may interact with the environment telling us what happens. Fiction
The first power The Power of Narration The power of Narration and the Scope of Narration, basically, define one of the levels of the fiction and the elements in it. Said Scope defines the inviolable limit of the space in which the player can narrate whatever he desires. Ex 4: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on the scene. You can tell what the characters do, who enters and leaves the scene and what happens to the scenery. Fiction
The first power The Power of Narration The power of Narration and the Scope of Narration, basically, define one of the levels of the fiction and the elements in it. Said Scope defines the inviolable limit of the space in which the player can narrate whatever he desires. Esempio 5: Luigi, you have Power of Narration on the scene but not on the characters. You can tell who enters and leaves the scene but not what they do once they have entered the scene. You can tell what happens to the scenery. Fiction
The first power The Power of Narration When there s many players, each of them should have Power of Narration over something. In traditional Role-playing Games players have Power of Narration over their character and one special player controls all the other characters and elements of the fiction. Fiction
The first power The Power of Narration It s now time to define which elements of the fiction for whose is necessary to assign Power of Narration. In order to do this I ll use some conventional symbols that I ll refer to in the following passages. Framing PNG Animate elements Plot Inanimate elements Setting Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration PNG Plot The player controls a protagonist character and can tell what that character sees, feels, knows and remembers. That character is their property: they will pursue that character interests and will tell what they desire to happen of them in the fiction. The player controls some secondary characters or groups (a crowd, a military force) and will tell what they do and know. This is their property, will pursue their interests and will tell what they desire to happen of them in the fiction. The player controls the «plot», intended as the sequence of events constituents of the story we are telling together. This control extends to both future and past events. Setting This player controls the «setting», intended as the world and environment in which we are playing.
The first power The Power of Narration Framing Elementi Animati Elementi Inanimati The player controls the «framing» process of scenes, intended as the progression of camera sequences that constitute the current scene. This player has the faculty to focus the narration on whatever he wants to frame. The player controls the animated elements in the «framed» scene or in the whole setting. Whatever has life in it (PGs and PNGs excluded) is their prerogative. The player controls the inanimate elements in the «framed» scene or in the whole setting. Whatever is lifeless is their prerogative. The player controls whatever hasn t been explicitely assigned. Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: The narrator assings three characters to the other players and keeps everything else for himself. Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: A sudden noise outside your tent wakes you up Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: My character stands up and reaches his dagger Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: I wake up, startled by the noise and try to figure out what s outside Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: I grab my short sword and run outside the tent Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: There s a huge bear, probably hungry. The beast is surprised and raises on its hind legs, ready to attack Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: I rush outside the tent and throw my dagger at the bear, hitting it in the stomach Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: I exit the tent and watch my two companions being attacked by the bear. I enter the tent again in search of some weapon. Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration And here s how it works: I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction Undefined
The first power The Power of Narration The power of Narration can be ad «detailed» and «fragmented» as you like, even more than described in this section. E.G. the narrator might want to assign to a player the «animate elements» without giving away the control on something like «the librarian», leaving it to be assigned. The important thing is that the players know exactly which part of the fiction is under their control and its properties.
The first power The Power of Narration What you just saw is one of the countless examples of configuration of the Power of Narration. Nontheless, you will probably have noticed that something is missing. If everybody narrates exactly what s their desire, the fiction wont be «interactive» and everything will flow as turn-based storytelling with multiple contributors. If I were the bear of the previous example, for instance, I certainly would have objected to being killed at the first or second strike. What s necessary is something «counteracting» the Power of Narration. We need the «Power of Opposition».
Levity IV Chapter II: «The pillars of Levity» THE THREE POWERS THE POWER OF OPPOSITION
The Second Power The Power of Opposition What is the Power of Opposition? It s the faculty, assigned to a player, that allows him to oppose a proposed piece of fiction that they feel is against the best interests of whatever they re controlling at the moment. At least one player must possess this power, otherwise the fiction will be generated without any possibility for it to be modifyied. In traditional Role-Playing Games this faculty was prerogative of the Master.
The Second Power The Power of Opposition Just like the Power of Narration, the Power of Opposition must be associated with a Scope of Opposition. Rephrasing, the player with the faulty to Oppose, must know what are the limits of this power. Unless differently specified by the Narrator, the Scope of Opposition coincides with the Scope of Narration: if a player controls just his character, he will be able to Oppose narrations made by other players damaging the interests of that character. The Opposition, considered like this, generates Conflicts. Other kinds of Opposition are Vetoes and Constraints. Vetoes and Constraints will be described later.
The Second Power The Power of Opposition I will use some conventional symbols for the Power of Opposition as well. These I will use in the following sections. Constraint Aesthetic Veto < Conflict < Coherence Veto
The Second Power The Power of Opposition < Conflict Aesthetic Veto Coherence Veto < The player opposes to something that is narrated, damaging the interests of whatever piece of fiction they re controlling (a, an N, animate elements, setting ). Conflicts are a form of oppositon immidiately linked to the fiction. They must be called when an element to be opposed is suggested, otherwise it cannot be excercised. The player opposes something that they do not enjoy, about what has been narrated, from an aesthetic point of view. This is independent from whatever piece of fiction they re controlling. Aesthetic Vetoes are a form of oppositon immidiately linked to the fiction. They must be called when an element to be opposed is suggested, otherwise it cannot be excercised. The player opposes something that they think is not coherent with what was narrated up to now, independently from whatever piece of fiction they re controlling. Coherence Vetoes are a form of oppositon immidiately linked to the fiction. They must be called when an element to be opposed is suggested, otherwise it cannot be excercised.
The Second Power The Power of Opposition Constraint The player imposes a truth on the fiction or one of its elements that must be maintained during following narrations. The Constraint is a form of asynchronous opposition because it must pre-exist with respect to what s being narrated. For this reason the Constraint might look like some sort of Power of Narration while being an Opposition. Constraints are applyied ON THE FICTION, not on the players. e.g. «the warrior will kill the evil sorcerer» is ok, «player A must say something about the sorcerer» is not, it s a rule not a constraint.
The Second Power The Power of Opposition Now, let s reprise the previous example and let s see the Power of Opposition in action: Fiction The narrator assigns three characters to the players and keeps all the rest for himself. Differently from before he wants to use the Power of Opposition too. Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. A sudden noise outside your tent wakes you up Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. My character stands up and reaches his dagger Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. I wake up, startled by the noise and try to figure out what s outside Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. I grab my short sword and run outside the tent Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. There s a huge bear, probably hungry. The beast is surprised and raises on its hind legs, ready to attack Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. I rush outside the tent and throw my dagger at the bear, hitting it in the stomach Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. I exit the tent and watch my two companions being attacked by the bear. I enter the tent again in search of some weapon. Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition No variation from the previous example. I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition And here s the Power of Opposition at work: I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack Fiction Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition We need to identify the Opposition. What kind of Opposition is this? I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack Constraint Is a constraint being broken by this narration? Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition We need to identify the Opposition. What kind of Opposition is this? I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack < Coherence Veto Is the narration coherent with what has been narrated up to now? Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition We need to identify the Opposition. What kind of Opposition is this? Aesthetic Veto I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack Is the narration not aesthetically pleasing? Undefined
The Second Power The Power of Opposition We need to identify the Opposition. What kind of Opposition is this? I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack < Conflict I wont allow my character interests to be damaged! Undefined
POWER OF NARRATION Putting the two powers together Let s try and piece together everything up to now. POWER OF OPPOSITION Undefined In this box we need to define what s the form of opposition being excercised and how it s resolved (third power)
POWER OF NARRATION Putting the two powers together Let s try and piece together everything up to now. POWER OF OPPOSITION Undefined Constraint < Coherence Veto Aesthetic Veto < Conflict
POWER OF NARRATION Putting the two powers together Let s try and piece together everything up to now. POWER OF OPPOSITION Undefined How do we resolve Oppositions? We need a third power
Levity IV Chapter II: «The pillars of Levity» THE THREE POWERS THE POWER OF RESOLUTION
The third Power The Power of Resolution What is the power of Resolution? It s the way (or the property) with which we determine how the Oppositions are resolved. At least one player must possess this power, otherwise the fiction will be created and the players will exercise oppositions but there will be no way to resolve those oppositions. The game will stall. In traditional Role-playing games this power is excercised only by the Master and most of the time it works by authority.
The third Power The Power of Resolution There must be at least a mode of Resolution for each possible Opposition. The modes of Resolution must always define WHO and HOW they decide. It s possible to define a single mode of resolution for ALL the forms of Oppositions (e.g. «I will always decide over matters of Opposition»). Together with the mode of Resolution it s necessary to determine WHO will narrate the results of the Resolution.
The third Power The Power of Resolution However there might be countless modes of Resolution, Levity is focused on 5 foundamental forms («Common Sense» and «Agreement» are not counted as they are not modes of Resolution per se, even if they can, and should, be used during the game). Aleatory (Based on Dice, Cards or other stuff) Majority Vote Authority Based on Resources Negotiation There can be multiple combinations of these modes, more or less complex, and most RPGs have some example of those.
The third Power The Power of Resolution Aleatory (Based on Dice or Cards or other ) The resolution system is based only on a randomizer (such as dice or cards). In this mode, I consider without modifiers, or a simple odd-even roll, to determine an outcome. Authority The resolution system is based only on an authoritarian decision by a single player or by a player who has a final word over something. Negotiation The resolution system is based only on a (more or less sophisticated or complex) negotiation about the contents of the fiction. The scope of the negotiation may be small or great. Votazione Based on Resources The resolution system is based only on a voting mechanism. This method may have different kind of results such as «by majority», «by minority», «by qualified majority» and so on The resolution system is based only on resources available to the player (tokens, stats, parameters with a value). Resources may be fixed during the game, otherwise some «economy» of resources is present (i.e. how they are created and consumed)
The third Power The Power of Resolution Aleatory (Based on Dice or Cards or other ) 1d6 2d6 3d6 It really doesn t matter the number and the type of dice. They re just a randomizer. It s more important WHY you throw them. This resolution system simply takes into account a randomizer alone. Note: throwing dice and adding stats does not fall in this case. This case is «throwing dice» only. If you add stats you re combining two modes. Levity uses three simple kinds of randomizers: «You may Fail» Roll. The dice throw must go over a threshold agreed or imposed by someone. If you stay over the threshold you succeed. If you stay under you fail. The more you re near or far from the threshold, the best or worst you succeed (or fail). «No Fail» Roll. There s no threshold here and the outcome is always good for the player. However you may «succeed but», «succeed», and «succeed and also» according to the result (i.e. how under or over you re with respect the average. Opposed Roll. The two sides roll dice. The higher wins. Difference between rolls determine «how much» one side wins.
The third Power The Power of Resolution This player may do: «You May Fail» Roll «No Fail» Roll I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack < Conflict Both may do: Opposed Roll Undefined Example of aleatory Resolution This player may do: «You May Fail» Roll «No Fail» Roll
The third Power The Power of Resolution Authority This resolution mode gives to only one player (the Narrator or everyone else) to decide about the outcome of the ongoing opposition. The power must be hold by a single player, otherwise you fall into Negotiation. You have «Authority» also if, after some discussion, a single player has the final word over something. «Authority» does not mean «No talking together».
The third Power The Power of Resolution This player can decide I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack < Conflit Undefined This player can decide (note: he is not involved in the conflict) The Narrator can decide Examples of authority Resolution
The third Power The Power of Resolution Negotiation The resolution system is based only on negotiation. The negotiation tactic may be «average up» or «average down» and the stake may be open (i.e. the outcome of the negotiation may have impacts over something that was not in scope at the beginning of negotiation, such as fictional elements owned by other players not involved in the negotiation) or closed (such as, one counterparty may have the right to impose fixed choices to the other party or nothing can be added or subtracted from the stake). It s up to you. To remember easily this kind of resolution just keep in mind: Yes, you have what you want but No, you don t but You get what you want and also but You don t get what you want but and also The two parties negotiation until they re satisfied with the outcome.
The third Power The Power of Resolution OK, you hit me, but I can escape and get to safety. I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack < Conflict Ok, you hit me, but I wont die and I get to hit you back. Undefined Example of negotiated Resolution
The third Power The Power of Resolution Votazione The resolution system is based only on voting. The system must be designed in order to let everyone know, before the opposition takes place, if a player has voting right, it the voting is won by majority, minority or every other form or resolution, or if delegation is accepted.
The third Power The Power of Resolution I d like for the bear to lose. I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it Fiction I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack < Conflict Undefined I d like for the bear to lose. Example of majority vote Resolution
The third Power The Power of Resolution Basato sulle Risorse The resolution system is based only on resources. By resources I mean everything available to the player that can be considered as a pool, or reserve, that can go up (or be accumulated) or down (or be consumed) Character stats fall into resources, for instance. They re usually used as a modifier of a randomized event to increase probability of success of an event (better, of a fictional statement in favour or the player). Economy of stats is usually very slow and is related to the «Character leveling». Tokens are also resources. Many games use them, with different fictional purposes, but in the end they also assume the mean through which one party can resolve an opposition using resources. Systems based only on resources may be difficult to create because they may require an associated «economic system» handling how and when resources are consumed and created (unless resource pool is fixed and resources only increase or decrease).
The third Power The Power of Resolution Io have two tokens. I win. I attack the bear with my short sword and, after dodging an attack, i stick it right in its heart killing it I don t think so. The bear is not that easy to kill. It will definitely try to defend itself from your attack < Conflict Fiction Undefined I only have one token. Example of resource based Resolution
Levity IV Capitolo II: «The Pillars of Levity» LEVITY IN ONE PAGE
Table of Content Levity IV Il gioco di narrazione The pillars of Levity Creating your own system Simple game systems ready Considerations over social aspects Levity relations with Other worlds Definition, general aspects and application domain The process of fiction generation The three 'essences' The three Powers Fixed Systems Variable systems Management of Information during game Ludic Enviroment Educational Environment Family Environment Players Groups Changing systems according to players groups Comics Cinema Theatre Truth and aesthetic at game table Validated and Non- Validated Fiction Levity in one page Your first rpg system Introducing game economy Complex game systems School Environment Working Environment <Theatre> Environment Interactive Fiction Roleplaying Games CYOA - books Personal Imaginary Space and Shared Imaginary Space Traditional storytelling The validation sequence TV Series
Levity in one page After having analyzed all the basic elements composing Levity, the following picture wants to schematically represent in a single page all the elements and their interactions in order to allow for a useful synthesis of the framework, to be used as a basis for the following considerations. All of the symbols previously defined will be used here. This chart, then, represents the process of generation of the fiction that must be followed when using the Levity framework and the derived games and systems. The sequence is: Narration; Opposition; Resolution and so on. Every time a new configuration is created all three of this aspects must be considered in order for the system to be complete.
Narration First Essence: «What you desire to be true in the fiction?» Second Essence: «In order to make it true you have to say it explicitely, it cannot be tacit.» Resolution and Narration of the result Opposition Third Essence: «What you don t say explicitly may never become true, in the fiction.»
Levity IV Capitolo II: «The Pillars of Levity» YOUR FIRST GAME SYSTEM
Table of Content Levity IV Il gioco di narrazione The pillars of Levity Creating your own system Simple game systems ready Considerations over social aspects Levity relations with Other worlds Definition, general aspects and application domain The process of fiction generation The three 'essences' The three Powers Fixed Systems Variable systems Management of Information during game Ludic Enviroment Educational Environment Family Environment Players Groups Changing systems according to players groups Comics Cinema Theatre Truth and aesthetic at game table Validated and Non- Validated Fiction Levity in one page Your first rpg system Introducing game economy Complex game systems School Environment Working Environment <Theatre> Environment Interactive Fiction Roleplaying Games CYOA - books Personal Imaginary Space and Shared Imaginary Space Traditional storytelling The validation sequence TV Series
Your first game system It s time to put into practice everything we explained up to now. Let s say you want to play an RPG/story game and nobody has either the time or the patience to go through one of those old and dusty handbooks. Also, you don t know how much time you ll have, but you still want to spend a couple of hours together telling stories and having fun. No problem. Levity is here to help you build in just a few fast steps a whole game system, simple yet complete. Take out the Boards, give them to the players and sit to the table (The boards are optional, but they are useful to keep track of the power configurations).
Your first game system You assign, to the players, Power of Narration over their Characters and keep for yourself «everything else».
Your first game system That was the first step. The power of Narration is assigned. Now, you must consider the Power of Opposition, in order to answer the question: «to what can the players oppose?» For the time being leave aside the Constraints, as they are the most complex and focus on Vetoes and Conflicts. Aesthetic and Coherence Vetoes are really important and allow the group to direct the aesthetic choices in order to build a coherent and pleasant story for everybody. You might opt to allow for Vetoes of both kinds for the duration of the whole game. Conflicts will be created whenever a player feels like some of their interests, involving what s in the Scope of Narration, is threatened.
< < < < < < < <
Your first game system Like this you just set the first two powers. Now only the last one, the Power of Resolution, remains. It allows to determine what to do when at least two players have different desires about the development of the fiction. Observe the Power of Narration and think of possible sources of conflict. In this simple system there s only two possible sources: Conflicts between PGs Conflict between PGs and everything else (possessed by the Narrator)
Your first game system You may take the Resolution board and decide: For conflicts between PGs, resolution will be negotiated. Narration will go to whomever abandons the negotiation. For conflicts between PGs and «everything else» there will be a check with failure using 3d6 and a threshold of 8. Narration will always go to the player of the character. Just like the Player Board, also the Resolution Board is optional and can easily replaced by paper, tokens and whatever else.
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Your first game system Now look at the Opposition sections. The players have the possibility to call for Aesthetic Vetoes and Constraints. What will happen when the players will call any of these? How will it be resolved? You can determine, for example, that you would like to resolve this kind of oppositions through majority vote and that if no majority emerges then you will decide by authority. The Resolution Board is then modified as following.
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Your first game system Your first personalized game system with this framework is ready and perfectly playable. Every time the player characters will be in disagreement they will have to negotiate. Every time the playing characters will be in a conflict against something/someone else they will have to roll a «check with failure» with 3d6 and threshold of 8. Every time vetoes will be proposed there will be a majority vote. If no majority is reached the Narrator decides. Nothing is missing. Now you re ready to play. Have fun!