Working Title: Who is Sal?
Description:
Who is Sal? is a tabletop exploration of the enigmatic figure Sal. In a group of three or four, players work together to try and piece together Sal’s life and history, from early childhood to late adulthood. By exploring various parts of Sal’s life, players piece together Sal’s motivations, accomplishments, and, ultimately, legacy.
Art/Research Statement:
I’m interested in exploring projection and the way we fill in the blanks that we see in other people. By specifying very little of Sal’s life (all the way down to Sal’s gender and era of birth), players are forced to determine what they are interested in exploring, and from there, personal identification will emerge.
Experimentally, I’m working on a time-less roleplaying system. Traditionally, tabletop games progress in a more or less linear time system, with players having an increasingly large memory base to draw from in addressing future challenges. By incorporating “stages” of Sal’s life, I aim to instead jump around from stage to stage in exploring Sal’s character, which leads to not only the past influencing the future, but the future informing the past.
Mock Screenshot:
A Microscope setting separating the events of the various eras – I envision a similar layout as the various time periods of Sal’s life are filled in.
3 Game References:
Microscope – A tabletop game that focuses on similar non-linear storytelling elements
DramaSystem – A tabletop system that codified the economy of a tabletop game in a roleplaying setting
Fat Man Down – A tabletop game focusing specifically on the exploration of one person rather than a setting or adventure path
3 Non-Game References:
Erikson’s stages of development – A psychological description of the eight stages of development of a person
Merlin legends (specifically, The Lost Years of Merlin and similar works) – Exploration of a character who knows and understands the future but not the past (living backwards)
The Wheel of Time – A fantasy setting focusing on the reincarnation of specific heroes, focusing on the connections that are made both forwards and backwards in time
