How do we feel about meta moves in pbta? Something the player wants to do rather than the character? My specific idea is for a romance heavy game with a Move called Ship It; you decide two characters that you think would be an adorable couple and your roll influences their future interactions. Thoughts?
How do we feel about meta moves in pbta?
How do we feel about meta moves in pbta?
Isn’t that exactly what the Bonds section on the character sheet does? Now, it’s usually something that includes your own character, but I can easily imagine: “Name two characters who…”
Yeah, but as a Move. So it’s something that you can direct in play and have an element of uncertainty with.
Like: “When you see signs that two characters have something going on, roll with $empathy. On a hit they do, on a 7-9 it will end badly”? – That might work for NPCs, for PCs, I’m afraid, it takes away a lot of agency.
Can you give me an example?
Pompeius Pomponius: What’s the one for carrot and stick? “Do the thing and mark XP or act under fire if you turn it down,” something like that.
Legends of the Elements has shipping moves you may want to check out for ideas.
PbtA moves definitely can play with agency, but usually background (the bond or Hx moves) or only in the immediate fiction. If you can make this about setting up the circumstances around the PC, you’ll take away less agency.
But it does depend a lot on the genre. Action Movie World is heavy on meta, but it also comes baked in with the assumption that players are directing an action movie. If you’re creating something similar, then own it. 🙂
Meta moves are already part of the PbtA design. AW had a section talking about moves, and even mentions using table-level triggers. For example, every “start of session” move is a move for players. I don’t see any reason that more “meta moves” wouldn’t work.
I think Highlighting stats is another meta-level influence on AW, without the explicit “move” structure though. I’m not sure how a characters stats should be fictionally relevant to a move, though, nor that “something triggered by fiction” should be triggered by meta actions.
That is, I don’t see anything wrong with meta level carrots and sticks, but they should act and be directed at other meta level concepts and mechanics – they shouldn’t translate directly into fictional elements (moves).
That ‘ship it move is great. I love something that asks for my input as an audience member.