The Abyss Also Stares

kaname under the cut 👀👀👀

You are stuck as a soldier in this historical war

(this is a magical universe where people who wouldn't usually be able to fight would. so you can all suffer.)

Because like.

A video game will often have cosmetics. Players like cosmetics. Players will spend money on cosmetics. And even in games where there's stats attached to outfit pieces, there's usually also glamours so that you don't have to be held hostage to a stat-optimized look.

However, a ttrpg that takes the time to list out outfit pieces will usually do so exclusively for statting purposes, and will not have a carve-out for glamours, and may well have a GM that is actively hostile to the idea. "Your AC is as Chain Mail, but you described your character as in a dress. I deduct one million participation points and a goblin eats your character sheet."

Also, ttrpg art tends to have a lot of cool costuming, but ttrpg text---even games with detailed lore sections---doesn't usually set aside time to talk about fashion. The art is left to do that lifting.

I think a big culprit for this state of affairs is that fashion is a deep field with a LOT of technical language, and making a fantasy version of a thing kind of requires knowing a lot about it.

So instead of diving deep into figuring out what kinds of garments a society might create, and in turn what kinds of cool looks players might be able to build with them, there's just a gesture towards the art. You can look like that.

As a result of all this, the point of dress up (being able to express yourself and feel something through choice of clothing) gets pushed into the margins. You can still do it, but the game isn't helping you. At best, it's not interfering.

"X field of art needs to have more Y topic" isn't a thing I think can ever be addressed quickly or comprehensively, but it *does* signal an opportunity going forward. So if you're a ttrpg designer and you're reading this, consider the place of dress up in your game.

What kinds of costumes can players wear? How does the costuming change how they are treated? How does the costuming echo or oppose how their characters feel?

And can you do more to support dress up?

Dress up, changing your name, scheming, risk, ghost stories, bragging, kissing, running, making a fort, and dolls.

Notably, kissing isn't about kissing. It's about doing things you're not sure are allowed, or that you're not sure you understand.

Changing your name is about having other people treat you as someone else, which is different from dolls which is about imbuing a neutral object with an identity.

Running is not just running, and is almost always combined with scheming.

Risk involves actual monetary or emotional risk, staking feelings, pride, or possessions on an outcome.

Making a fort does not require making a physical fort, but is better when it does.

Because like.

A video game will often have cosmetics. Players like cosmetics. Players will spend money on cosmetics. And even in games where there's stats attached to outfit pieces, there's usually also glamours so that you don't have to be held hostage to a stat-optimized look.

However, a ttrpg that takes the time to list out outfit pieces will usually do so exclusively for statting purposes, and will not have a carve-out for glamours, and may well have a GM that is actively hostile to the idea. "Your AC is as Chain Mail, but you described your character as in a dress. I deduct one million participation points and a goblin eats your character sheet."

Also, ttrpg art tends to have a lot of cool costuming, but ttrpg text---even games with detailed lore sections---doesn't usually set aside time to talk about fashion. The art is left to do that lifting.

I think a big culprit for this state of affairs is that fashion is a deep field with a LOT of technical language, and making a fantasy version of a thing kind of requires knowing a lot about it.

So instead of diving deep into figuring out what kinds of garments a society might create, and in turn what kinds of cool looks players might be able to build with them, there's just a gesture towards the art. You can look like that.

As a result of all this, the point of dress up (being able to express yourself and feel something through choice of clothing) gets pushed into the margins. You can still do it, but the game isn't helping you. At best, it's not interfering.

"X field of art needs to have more Y topic" isn't a thing I think can ever be addressed quickly or comprehensively, but it *does* signal an opportunity going forward. So if you're a ttrpg designer and you're reading this, consider the place of dress up in your game.

What kinds of costumes can players wear? How does the costuming change how they are treated? How does the costuming echo or oppose how their characters feel?

And can you do more to support dress up?

Dress up, changing your name, scheming, risk, ghost stories, bragging, kissing, running, making a fort, and dolls.

Notably, kissing isn't about kissing. It's about doing things you're not sure are allowed, or that you're not sure you understand.

Changing your name is about having other people treat you as someone else, which is different from dolls which is about imbuing a neutral object with an identity.

Running is not just running, and is almost always combined with scheming.

Risk involves actual monetary or emotional risk, staking feelings, pride, or possessions on an outcome.

Making a fort does not require making a physical fort, but is better when it does.