I was going to try to explain it, but it took me forever and I just made a hot mess of it. In play, its pretty simple and straightforward, but it can be confusing at first because it doesn't use standard RPG terminology or mechanics. Here's a quote about the basic principles of the collaborative storytelling approach. The term Director is pretty much the GM, and the term Writers refers to the players who control the actors (PC's).
Fundamentals to Playing ScreenPlay
There are a couple of key foundations for playing ScreenPlay, aspects you must understand before you can move on to learning the rules themselves. These keys override everything else and can be used by the Director to help render a verdict on any mechanical conflicts in the game.
The Rule of Initiatives: During play, everyone will have a chance to add to the story by describing their characters taking actions, interacting with the scene, and creating new elements and dangers to move the story forward. From there, everyone else will have an opportunity to take those elements and use them accordingly, but whoever introduced that element – be it a location, character,
event, or anything else – has the final say on what that element can and cannot do. For example, if the Director reacts to a lead character turning on a light switch by providing a description of a sweatshop, a Writer cannot suddenly turn it into an alien spaceport on her turn unless the Director (who introduced the sweatshop into the story) approves.
This is known as the Rule of Initiatives, and basically states that whoever initiates something into the story arbitrates its every facet. This also applies to Writers as well, such as when a Writer describes one of his characters spotting a band of half-feline ninjas skulking along the moonlit rooftops.
To help facilitate this fundamental point of the game, it’s recommended players use index cards to record new elements, characters, locations, and other introductions in the game with particular attention given to the player who initiated them. Record all key facts of these elements and lay them on the table for reference during play.
Yes, And...: ScreenPlay is a co-operative storytelling experience and that means accepting what’s been presented by all players in the game (Writers and Directors alike) and applying it in your future descriptions. This involves a basic principle of improvisation known simply as "Yes, And..." meaning when something is introduced into the scene, everyone else will embrace it and it will be gospel. Everyone must then work within the limits of these descriptions, reactions, and other facets of the game, no matter how strict or broad. For example, if the story is established to take place in 1890s France, describing a horde of Mongol barbarians would not be appropriate (unless your story has already established a wormhole in time allowing this Mongolian horde to attack the Eiffel Tower). If this key is broken, the Director has final judgment on whether or not to deny its introduction, and then insist on a revised one.
Last edited August 30, 2020 6:43 am
