[arg_discuss] Deception and what it means to be Real

[Wendy Despain]

As others have said, I don't have a lot of time to spend on this, but
here's the short version of my view:

The magic circle is fun because of the boundary - the player can
choose to step into or out of it. There are issues of trust related to
this boundary.

As someone else mentioned, interacting with fictional characters is
fun *because we know they're fictional.* If we don't know, that added
magic isn't there. And can't be added on later.

People want to know when they're stepping into the magic circle. So I
think it's important to make it clear when you're inviting them in.

I'm currently involved in a project that is experimenting with ways to
draw in new players who otherwise wouldn't choose to step into a magic
circle (because it's out of their comfort zone) and we've found great
success. But they key so far is in helping to build up that boundary
of the magic circle - and the trust that goes with it. (You won't be
abandoned there with no way to get out. Someone is running the magic,
you can trust us.)

Wendy Despain
quantumcontent.com