A short piece of #PbtA #RPGTheory.
Many of Apocalypse World's rules refer explicitly to the interactions you have when you play.
Implicit: On a 10+, your character hits theirs. They choose where.
Explicit: On a 10+, tell them that your character hits theirs. Ask them where.
Many of Apocalypse World's rules refer explicitly to the interactions you have when you play.
Implicit: On a 10+, your character hits theirs. They choose where.
Explicit: On a 10+, tell them that your character hits theirs. Ask them where.
A lot of the time, it doesn't matter. The examples above are basically interchangeable.
But compare these:
Implicit: On a 10+, your character guesses what they should be on the lookout for.
Explicit: On a 10+, ask the GM: "What should my character be on the lookout for?"
But compare these:
Implicit: On a 10+, your character guesses what they should be on the lookout for.
Explicit: On a 10+, ask the GM: "What should my character be on the lookout for?"
These aren't interchangeable in the same way. In the implicit version, you have to kind of guess or interpret what interaction you should have with the GM, to get the result the rule describes. The explicit version describes the interaction directly instead.
When it doesn't matter, Apocalypse World goes either way, implicitly or explicitly addressing your interactions, depending on tone, formula, and space considerations.
Our later games tend to be more and more explicit, but when it doesn't matter, I really don't think it matters.
Our later games tend to be more and more explicit, but when it doesn't matter, I really don't think it matters.
If you're reading PbtA moves carefully, though, or writing your own, pay attention to how they explicitly refer to the real-world interactions of the players & GM. How they use words like "ask," "say," "tell," "announce," or "have them choose" instead of "they choose."
Here's a fun example. It's from the Witch's Bird playbook that @NightSkyGames and I just submitted to #WitchJam.
The miss result is, "on a miss, you go too far: ask or tell the MC what line you cross."
itch.io/jam/witch-jam
The miss result is, "on a miss, you go too far: ask or tell the MC what line you cross."
itch.io/jam/witch-jam
I like "ask or tell the MC" a lot. It invites you to choose whether to say what happens yourself, especially if you already have an idea, or to ask the the GM (or another player) what happens instead.
I'm excited to write more moves that use it. It has nice breathing room, like.
I'm excited to write more moves that use it. It has nice breathing room, like.
Anyhow that's it! Not much to it, just a point to consider when you're thinking and talking about PbtA moves.
