81. (September 2019) Recursion by Blake Crouch — The Tabletop Roleplayers' Book Club

Recursion 1: General thoughts

BarnerCobblewood — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:21:21 +0000

What did you think of the book in general? Any particular thoughts (positive or negative) provoked about playing rpgs or games more generally? If your response was 'meh,' what was lacking?

Recursion 6: More questions and discussion

BarnerCobblewood — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:16:46 +0000

I'm interested in hearing from everyone about what questions and thoughts reading the book provoked. So this is a space for more questions or thoughts. Also, fell free to start more threads if you feel that would be helpful.

Recursion 4: Who is the author of work and play?

BarnerCobblewood — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:17:25 +0000

Earlier I posted a link to an interview with Crouch. This work was intended from very early in its conception to be part of a globalised and corporate multi-media experience that will include television or movies, and included discussions with business men as part of its genesis. These 'universes' (e.g. SW, MC, DC) are money-making machines, and often include RPGs (desktop and computer) as part of their portfolio. Stand alone RPGs (Indy) are often presented as an alternative to such corporate world-making, and somehow qualitatively different. What kind of experiences have you had with various types of RPGs, what do you prefer, and what are the reasons you have for your preferences?

Recursion 3: How seriously should we take fiction and playing?

BarnerCobblewood — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:20:42 +0000

Recursion is presented as a fusion of genres (pulp) fiction, which codes it as 'mere entertainment,' but the story takes as its starting point social concerns around cognitive dementia, which is an actual crisis that will only become more disruptive in NA and Europe over the next couple of decades. RPGs also are presented as belonging to genres, which helps encode them as nothing more than entertainment. At the same time, these stories often include discussion of extremely important social events and stances. Should play be (sometimes) more than entertainment? What is your experience with RPGs played for entertainment, or playing seriously?

Recursion 2: Time travel and gaming

BarnerCobblewood — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:21:09 +0000

The book was structured so the reader discovers the sequence of events out of order, and so only slowly is the gains a global understanding of what is going on. This discover was also mirrored in the experience of the protagonists, helping the reader identify with and care about them. Tricks like this are common in fiction (e.g. LOTR books 3 and 4), but I find hard to present in a game-session. I think playing with time like this helps keep the reader interested and engaged. Do any games you play present ways of doing this? Let us know how they work, and if you have tried to do anything like the time travel presented in this book.

Recursion 5: Do conclusions matter?

BarnerCobblewood — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 13:17:13 +0000

Last, were you satisfied with the story as a stand-alone narrative with a conclusion? How important is it for playing to have a conclusion?