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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2017 22:06:38 GMT -8
Recently I noticed that someone asked in the Hotseat for Stu, "How do you get your ideas?"
It was clear this was meant as a joke, which is pretty sad. Not everyone has the tools to effectively brainstorm. Not everyone knows where to look for inspiration. So instead of being glib, why not cover this stuff as a show topic? As an advice show, HJRPG tends to be aimed at GM's and people who want to GM. This is information that people could actually use. Tell us what the genesis for games like the Freak Show were. How did Stu come up with the basis or characters for the Inukai game?
I'm fairly sure people are legitamately interested, so give us the low down on how Happy Jacks comes up with their ideas.
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Post by uncommonman on Jun 29, 2017 23:12:42 GMT -8
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Jul 5, 2017 13:32:20 GMT -8
That phrase is an inside joke because Stork asked that to Steve Jackson. Hilarity ensued.
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sbloyd
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Post by sbloyd on Jul 5, 2017 15:21:29 GMT -8
I seem to recall Stu watched some samurai movies before Inukai.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2017 22:07:37 GMT -8
That phrase is an inside joke because Stork asked that to Steve Jackson. Hilarity ensued. As I remember, he was an ass about it. Stork posted something a long while back about artists and learning to become better. In that artle the writer spoke about different stages of mastery. An important one was understanding your process and mistakes. That way you know how you got a great piece or a piece of trash. It makes the whole thing able to replicated or improved upon. The same concepts stand in most disciplines. Asking someone about their creative process yields three basic results. You hope for the person who understands their process and is willing to explain it. Sometimes you will get the one who understands, but hordes that knowledge (trade secrets and the like). Then you have your people who don't understand, so its doesn't matter if they want to explain it or not, because they are incapable of doing so due to lack of understanding. I think what is revealed most of the time by questions such as "Where do you get your ideas from?", is that a majority of creators have no idea what their process is. The bumble from one thing to the next without any recognition of how or why they are doing what they are doing. When confronted with having to explain that fact, they act like giant assholes to cover up the fact that they don't know. The truth is that most people who do know aren't threatened by others finding out, because the process does not prepare someone for the amount of work it takes to go through said process. The secret's people hide are the ones that can be easilly reproduced (Mom's famous cakes are really Betty Crocker cake mix, for example). The best GM sections in books are filled with information about creative process. Dresden Accelerated's faction system gives you a process you can use to make a game. Apocalypse World's NPC and threat creation is another great example. Dungeon World's Steading's are another greate example of a creative process. Here are the steps to do _____. It's the most valueable information you can be given. Steve Jackson scoffing at being asked how he gets his ideas is similar to an RPG player not knowing how or being too good to roleplay making a PB&J. These are basics, not being able to talk about them makes you an ass or incompetent.
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Post by lowkeyoh on Jul 6, 2017 0:15:35 GMT -8
Neil Gaiman spoke well on 'Where do you get ideas' from in this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C48jAkVlI0It's worth noting that the derision from Steve Jackson wasn't because he wasn't willing to answer the question, he has in fact answered it since, but because 'where do you get your ideas' is the most basic, hacky interviewing question out there. That being said, I agree that it would be nice to talk about process a bit more. The question of 'How do I make my game's story better' has come up three times since Probie Tim has been on the show and the responses we've gotten are; Be confident, put less effort into making a story, and keep doing what you're currently doing I'm sure it's not that bad. One of the things I've found so useful about listening to the APs is to discuss with Stu Venable and Bill Roper about why they make certain decisions, some improvised in the moment and some planned, in the game and then tracks the consequences of those actions later in the story. As for the raw ideas themselves, I believe that both stork and jazzisblues have echoed Gaiman's point of people who have to rely on creativity have trained themselves to realize when they have had an idea. I believe JiB mentioned that he carries an idea notebook with him almost always (I think Stork has also mentioned that at one point, but I'm less confidant about it) I've mentioned a few times that it would be nice to have actual encounter design discussed on the podcast a few times. To come up with a known set of characters, either on the cast or the forum, with simple motivations and then have all the hosts come up with a plot point or an encounter that they'd throw at the party. Just to have everyone talk through their logic and see some of the process.
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Post by ayslyn on Jul 6, 2017 3:02:31 GMT -8
It's worth noting that the derision from Steve Jackson wasn't because he wasn't willing to answer the question, he has in fact answered it since, but because 'where do you get your ideas' is the most basic, hacky interviewing question out there. With all due respect, I gotta call shenanigans. While it might be a basic question (and it's basic for a good reason) there's nothing hacky about it. We ask people where they draw their inspirations from (because that's what Stork was really asking) because it's an interesting and valid question. Steve was just being an ass. #IStandWithStork #WhereDoYouGetYourIdeas
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Post by mook on Jul 6, 2017 5:01:46 GMT -8
In my opinion, he was not being an ass and has been unfairly painted. I've pointed out, lowkeyoh linked to a Gaiman video, that show this almost-exact answer has been bandied about by professional writers for decades, certainly long before that interview. I think it's pretty clear he was hearkening back to a very old writer's meme, one that clearly not everyone was aware of, and that colored their perception of the response (I know when I first listened to that episode to see what the fuss was about, my first thought was "Oh, he's calling back to Ellison's joke," not "Oh, he's being a douchebag.") I feel like had the crew known to what he was referring, the reaction would have been much different. I actually found it much more awkward when he called the question "stupid," but again even there he sounded (to me) to be laughing much more with the group than at them. Kind of an "ingratiating via ribbing" approach. Naturally, YMMV.
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Jul 6, 2017 6:56:24 GMT -8
> Steve Jackson scoffing at being asked how he gets his ideas is similar to an RPG player not knowing how or being too good to roleplay making a PB&J. These are basics, not being able to talk about them makes you an ass or incompetent.
Wait, some GMs expect players to roleplay making a sandwich?
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sbloyd
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Post by sbloyd on Jul 6, 2017 7:15:13 GMT -8
Part of it, the way I saw it, was I think a reaction to, well, what appeared to be a lack of familiarity with Jackson's game line. I mean, have you looked at it? "Where do you get your ideas?" Look at the game line, man! EVERYWHERE! Feudal Japan! Time travel fiction! Mad Max! Fallout! Steampunk! Discworld! EVERYTHING!
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sbloyd
Supporter
WHAT! A human in a Precursor service vehicle?!
Posts: 2,762
Preferred Game Systems: Storyteller; Dresden; Mage
Favorite Species of Monkey: Goddamnit, Curious George is a CHIMP not a monkey! Stop teaching my daughter improper classification!
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Post by sbloyd on Jul 6, 2017 7:17:42 GMT -8
Wait, some GMs expect players to roleplay making a sandwich? It's a Mental VH skill.
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Post by Probie Tim on Jul 6, 2017 7:21:47 GMT -8
I think what is revealed most of the time by questions such as "Where do you get your ideas from?", is that a majority of creators have no idea what their process is. I have no shame in admitting that I am one of those. Sometimes I just come up with shit, stuff just pops into my head. And then I put it in OneNote somewhere, if I remember. And then, sometime later, I might come across that random thing, get enthused, and spend some time fleshing it out a bit. I might like it and it might become something, or I might not and it'll sit in OneNote. But as for an actual process? Or a concrete source for ideas? Nope, I got nothin'.
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Post by zoomfarg on Jul 6, 2017 8:03:01 GMT -8
Fear not people. We have a solution. Here's a plot generator. We can live the dream. (I've played around with it a little. Sometimes it spits out something good, often it doesn't. Some answers are amusingly awkward.)
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Jul 6, 2017 8:15:42 GMT -8
Or even this which was generously made from this generator some cool guy (who probably deserves a medal or something) made this one time.
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Post by Stu Venable on Jul 6, 2017 13:18:36 GMT -8
In all seriousness, I cannot point to a *process* for getting inspired. Sometimes it's a weird chain of associations, or - as Tim said - an idea is just there in my head.
For instance, the idea for Ghostbuster LA happened because I read an article that some of the original Ghostbusters cast were talking about a remake/sequel. At the time, I was reading through a CoC book. And I wondered if there had been a Cthulhu episode of the Real Ghostbusters. There had -- sort of -- Collect Call of Cthulhu. I watched it (having the entire DVD collection). It was terrible. A few days later, I went for a walk in my neighborhood, and they were renovating this old house (pre 1900s). At the time it was all primer white. And I thought to myself, "that'd make a cool Ghostbusters base of operations."
Another time, I was running a con game, and the party blew through what I had thought was 4 hours of material in an hour. So I excused myself and went to the bathroom. The idea of mechanized arachnobots with beam guns popped into my head.
Now if you want to ask how I go from an idea to a fleshed out product (be it a song or adventure outline), that I can do.
Or we can talk about how to come up with ideas in an existing campaign. I have several processes for that. But I think we've discussed mid-game prep.
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