Cinematic vs gamist...

[weasel2000]

I have an interesting question, mainly brought about by playing the Tombstone Western LARP last weekend. What do people do more...play to the game or play to the cinematic. Reason I ask is that sometimes, within a LARP, it seems like you could game it for your character to survive even when he/she shouldn't as opposed to doing what is cinematic.

Comments

[castalusoria]

My more-cinematic railroad (not a pejorative term, in this case) went off the rails when my supposed True Love ended up paired off with someone else. This bothered me OOC way more than I expected. I thought about how my character ended the movie ("Destry Rides Again," she takes a bullet for Destry and dies, just as they're realizing their feelings for each other), and wondered if there was a way for that to happen IC and have it be at all meaningful-- instead of just unrequited-angsty

[flaviarassen]

Wow - you said a good deal of what I did on weasel's FB - (WTTE:) "When in doubt, go cinematic, so everyone enjoys."

I know I tend to angst a lot over what other people consider "details", but it's because I'm trying to be fair to everyone - the GMs, the other players *&* myself, so if I see a contradiction, or a snag, I want it ironed out before the game even starts. But I digress...

I'd say there is no real - or, rather, immutable - answer to the original question: players have to decide what's best under any given circumstance. But I think you & I definitely agree on what's generally best to do.

[toothlesshag]

Epic death is FUN!!! Especially at the end of the larp. Losing is fun.

[the_smith_e]

My character hint said

[earthdragon]

The 'role-play the character' vs. 'play to win' has been a long discussion in MIT circles when I was around, and the general result seem to have been 'role-play to win'. So there, it is character first, goals second, and mostly neglecting the cinematic or shaping the story beyond or at the cost of the character.

It seems to be very much a factor of group and game, but I think it is important for everyone to be mostly on the same page on this.

[evcelt]

I think it depends on the focus of the game... if it is a cinematic game, which Tombstone certainly seems to have been, then go cinematic. But, as someone else already mentioned, the focus/genre needs to be communicated by the writers and GMs.