In Media Res

So, one of the cool things about Chimera is all the chatting that goes on in between the games.

And someone made a comment that, for some games, being a little spoiled on the plot wasn’t a bad thing: if Players had an idea as to the available story arcs, they could tweak things to get a more satisfying story. (Obviously this isn’t always the case. For example, Jade Empire:Makoto Fort had many secrets that, when or if revealed, could drastically alter how the game ended. V. important not to spoil for potential Players.)

But I was thinking about pushing that ‘knowing what’s ahead’ bit.

For example, setting up a game in four Acts.

Each Act starts with a short pre-scripted scene, preferably with as much drama and tension as possible eg. someone being held hostage while someone else being revealed as the father of the twins etc. etc.

Then the Act get re-wound slightly and the Players work out their story trying to get to that dramatic moment, and then resolve it.

Next Act, another in media res moment to work towards.

Anyway, it’s an idea. I have no plans to script something like that right now (other stuff in the writing queue), but … your thoughts?