Social Contract

This is the Social Contract of what the shared experience should be like

Players, Roles and Conduct

Participants

				Creative Agenda
				Narrative		Mechanics		Focus
Player	Player Sheet	Roles	Veils	Story	Immersion	Simulation	Gaming	Character	Setting
Player 1				1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5
Player 1				1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5
Player 1				1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5	1-5

Rules of Conduct

• Communication Rules
  • in Person
  • email
  • text
• Rules Used

Creative Agenda

Element	Focus	Aspects		1	2	3	4	5
Narrative	Story Telling	Narrative	Shared World Arc
			Shared Story Arc
			Individual Character Arc
		Theme	Conflict/War
			Relationships/Romance
			Exploration/Discovery
			Growth/Loss/Recovery
			Creation/Development (Detail)
		Veils	Violence
			Religion
			Sexuality
		Mood	Drama
			Comedy
			Horror
		Setting	Cultures, Geography
		Immersion						Complete Immersion Never break Character
Perspective Focus (Remove?)	Character
Mechanics	Simulation		Combat, Conflict
		Conflict Resolution, Social Interaction of Players	Social Interaction, Cooperation, Influence
			Technical
	Gaming	Balance	Authority
			Agency
			Power
		Player Interaction	Competitive
			Mixed (Group goals, Collaborate and Competitive)
			Collaborative, Reincorporation, Facts
		Management	Resource
			Risk, Reward (Chance)
		Player Abilities	Knowledge
			Skill (Psychology, Perception, ..)
		Chance / Strategy	Chance
			Strategy, Tactics (Long/Short), Balance

Agenda	Importance	Aspects
Focus		World/Setting	Character
Narrative		Story/Drama	Immersion
Mechanics		Gaming	Simulation

Note: Somewhat but not necessarily opposing, "Story/Drama" and "World/Setting" are related as are

Game		Narrative		Mechanics		Focus
Example	Category	Story	Immersion	Simulation	Gaming	Character	Setting
Dungeons & Dragons	Role-Playing	Low	Medium		High		Medium
Universalis	Role-Playing	High	Low		Low	Low	High
RoleMaster	Role-Playing	Low		High	High
Fiasco	Role-Playing	High	High
Chivalry & Sorcery	Role-Playing						High
HarnMaster	Role-Playing			High
Riddle of Steel	Role-Playing	Medium		High		Medium
Ars Magica	Role-Playing	Medium
Dogs in the Vinyard	Role-Playing
Chess/Go	Strategy Game
Game of Life	Board Game	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Low
Cluedo
Diplomacy	Board Game

Setting

• Location and Time
• Laws of Nature
• Technology
• Cultures

Examples

Category	Sub-Categories	Magic	Technology
Science Fiction	Hard/ Soft, Cyberpunk
Fantasy	High, Sword and Sorcery,
Historical	Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Modern	None

Mechanics

Depending on the Focus of the Game the mechanics of the will be more or less complex:

Game Mechanics

• Character (Gauges, ...)
  • Attributes Used (Granularity)
  • Attribute Values (Granularity)
  • Attribute Value Distribution (Best/Worst of)

Can be different for different Characters/Players types

• Conflict Resolution (Physical, Mental, ....)
• Skill Checks

Story Mechanics

• Scene Setup

Facts/World Mechanics

• Laws of Nature
• Cultures
• History
• Technology
• Geography