There's this wonderful 2017 GDC talk that I think applies heavily to the world of TTRPGs. Allow me to summarize: freedom and autonomy are not the same thing. Freedom is the ability to do what you want and autonomy is the desire to want to do things. Equating them is the Freedom Fallacy, the idea that simply giving the players options will make them want to do stuff.
Let's put this in more TTRPG terms. Freedom represents the players options in what content they can engage with, be it linear or open. There's nothing wrong with either option. A linear game is not inherently worse than an open game. On the other hand, Autonomy represents the players self-motivation to engage with these options. There must be things the players want to do. A lack of autonomy is a bad thing.
Players don't want freedom. They want autonomy. There's a reason a lot of narrative linear games have lasted a long time: the players are autonomous even if they lack freedom. More freedom is, often, not better. Players don't necessarily want infinite options: they want their choices to matter.
Moral of the story: You can't just throw a cool world at your players, they have to have a reason to interact with it.
This is a mistake I am guilty of. I, in the past, though putting a cool map in front of the players was all it would take to get them excited.Instead, it left them confused and disinterested. There has to be a reason to engage.
Though I dislike it, gold for XP has a reason to exist: it's a reason to interact with the world. This is, I think, one of the greatest failings of modern TTRPG design, milestone leveling, is bad. It actively encourages a lack of autonomy. You are rewarded for the bare minimum. Even when you are free to do whatever you want, there's no reason to do anything.
The solution is simple: create reasons for players to interact and do stuff. Create interesting plot hooks, cool rewards and magic items, sources of XP that aren't rewarded for doing nothing. This is some of the best advice I can give for a new GM. Do not fall into the fallacy of freedom.
The distinction being made (freedom vs "autonomy") seems useful, and noting that players need to be motivated is a good point. But hijacking the term "autonomy", attempting to make it essentially a synonym for "motivation" seems counterproductive and potentially confusing. In most dictionaries, the definition of "autonomy" is pretty close to being a synonym for "freedom". There's no reason to redefine words to mean things that they don't when other perfectly good words exist to express the intended idea.
ReplyDeleteDang, didn't mean to post that anonymously. Anyway, I also recently made the mistake of expecting a cool map to motivate my players. But I think it is a relative mistake, not an absolute mistake - it depends on the players. For instance, I as a player absolutely can be motivated just by a cool map because one of my main engagements with the game is discovery - I wanna go see what's over there.
ReplyDeleteIn general, different players have different kinds of engagement, and so different things will motivate them. Gold for XP will motivate some players, but not others. I recommend reading this
(as long as you don't mind a little sweary-ness):
https://theangrygm.com/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-fun/
I definetly think you're right about the whole usage of the word autonomy. I wasn't sold on it either but I couldn't find a better word.
DeleteAs it happens, I also love exploration and seeing new things in new worlds is a large part of my enjoyment of TTRPGs. That said, even when presented a giant map I'd lose my ability to decide anything because there is such a thing as an overload of choices. Having some sort of extra guide (such as knowing where the treasure is) helps direct things in my experience.
Maybe the word you want is "agency." It combines ideas of autonomy and motivation. Plus, it's widely used in this sense in gaming.
DeleteGood article, but I agree with Eric that we don’t need to redefine terms. Freedom vs Motivation is perfectly acceptable and is the point you are making. The only real issue I have is the blanket statement that milestone leveling is bad. Understandably, the way you present it is bad. However, that is not how milestone leveling works.
ReplyDeleteMilestone leveling is gaining levels once players reach a “milestone.” This helps control the flow of the game so you don’t have level 17 PCs running through your level 10 campaign because they farmed orcs and goblins on the highway for several sessions before moving forward. Milestones make it more of a real world immersive experience and less of a video game. However, there are many who enjoy that type of play and if so, then more power to them. Play the way you enjoy. I for one only use milestones and only ever will use them. And my players have plenty of reason to engage in my world.
I think that Gold for EXP is just representative of 'Do thing, get rewarded levels'. The way most DMs including myself have used Milestones is that it makes the relationship between party goals and rewards ambiguous. I've had tables where players roll up, don't really have any idea or plan to move forward because Milestones give the idea of 'Show up to Session get levels'.
DeleteSo rather then ditching Milestones, some people should consider making the Milestones more explicit. In CoS I am granting levels to my players when they gather the macguffins needed to defeat Strahd as well as finding their destined alley. You get the easy motivation while cultivating the style of play you are looking for. And you can do more then make levels the reward, such as rewarding new features and such.
So I used that definition of milestone levelling because in my experience, that is what milestone boils down too. Go down the linear path, get rewarded when the GM says so. Nothing wrong with that but I do believe it creates a motivation issue.
DeleteI'm actually not a big fan of gold for XP and vastly prefer XP for more narrative goals, it's just that I prefer those goals are player set and require active effort from them. I propose a system to do this in my post on Ambition Levelling, which is a modified milestone system.