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| Day 12 - Message |
Message.
Sometimes I wonder about the gaming cliches. How many times does a Call of Cthulhu scenario start with a message from a distant relative/former student/fellow academic who asks for help? Or we have the legacy or will that leaves something mysterious. Even D&D is going this way with the message boards of Phandelver rather than its past cliche of a man approaching you in a pub (Traveller: Patron in starport bar).
How do we do better? Do we need to do better? Should we just accept that the forms are there as a way to ease us into the plot. Would starting in media res and flashing back be better and more fulfilling? Letting characters stumble onto the plot?
On balance, I think that the cliche of a message to hook you is for the best. It's like the femme fatale walking into the detective's room, with trouble following behind her.
12 August 2020
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