System and Stop-Flows

In the recent blog post, Rules are not neutral!, Humberto Tramujas describes Umberto Eco’s concept of the open work. "Some artworks are intentionally structured to invite participation and interpretation. These works are not closed, fixed narratives but open systems allowing multiple paths of engagement." A open work rule system is then like a prism that can invite in, reflect and transform flows of play.

TTRPG play is a flow of imaginary events, punctuated by pauses in the fiction to make decisions and dice rolls. Moments where play stops are where the flow of play is redirected. What you do during pauses in play and how long you stop for are the most contentious issues in TTRPG design and discourse. There is a relationship between the two, where the series of in game events call for adjudication, and where a decision leads to changes in the fiction. 

Stop-flows are places where flows are redirected, separated, and transformed into new flows. In the case of TTRPGs they can be mechanics, lore, or really any arbitrary way to make a decision. Flows can be restricted and redirected into a limited set of behaviors, but they can also be redirected release new creative flows of play. 

Flows of fiction travel through people as we tell and create stories, and through culture, as playstyles rise and fall in popularity through rulebooks, actual play streams, blog posts and subcultures. These flows of course are paired with flows of money and merch. The flows of money are a central part of the greater ecosystem, giving it structure and imposing the most profitable flows over and through people. Flows of culture that depended on flows of money stamp out "open work TTRPGs" which in contrast invite and generate a multitude of new flows of fiction.