Tabletop roleplaying game content blog Gnome Stew is currently publishing a curious and interesting series on Israeli RPG Game Theory. The series launched in late November, and as of this writing consists of two rather intriguing articles, with word that at least a third article is planned and in the works.
The two Intro Into Israeli Theory series articles posted so far are titled Your Character Does Not Exist, and Everyone Is A GM. Gnome Stew states the series is connected to its 2017 article Israeli Tabletop: Three Flavors of Delta Green, that previously introduced “the way one community of Israeli GMs design their games using this framework.” Gnome Stew adds that some goals of the current Intro Into Israeli Theory are to feature more insights and terminology with a focus on “actionable ideas that can be implemented immediately at your gaming table.”
The first article, Your Character Does Not Exist, covers three main topics: characters don’t exist, there is no GM, and the game doesn’t have a story. To quickly summarize, the article puts forth the notion that “the most important question in a roleplaying game is, what do the players do?” This question lines up with Israeli theory by emphasizing that everything the players and GM do during their game session is actually and most importantly “a conversation between real people.” Any effects that players are trying to create in-game must first be created in real life at the table. Because characters do not exist, because they are merely figments of imagination that have their every thought and action dictated by the player, gameplay should instead be focused on affecting the players.
The second article, Everyone is a GM, expands on the first article’s second topic, explaining how in reality no one person is the GM, and instead how every player in the game is a GM. Every player has the power to change the game in meaningful ways, with just a few words, facial expressions, with their immersive involvement (or lack thereof) and in many other ways. These “guiding actions” impact every player at the table, whether they are the designated GM, or not. Therefore, the article posits that the GM’s “role” should actually be considered more of a “guide” and as an act that every player participates in.
The next planned Intro Into Israeli Theory article will cover the topic Games Don’t Have a Story, “that the concepts of story, narrative and plot as we usually perceive them do not really apply to the core activity of tabletop games, requiring a new paradigm.” Be sure to check in with Gnome Stew to see when it gets published.
Source: Gnome Stew
