Thanks for taking the time to comment so fully on this issue.

Cool and creativity are not the same thing. The ‘Day After Tomorrow’ was creative (e.g. no other film has had New York flood & frozen) but was not cool. In fact it sucked.

Cool and creativity are interlinked but what Chatty’s original article was suggesting is that you ’swamp your players with cool’ which to me demonstrates a lack of understanding of what cool is.

Cool is not something that can be bottled and dished out whenever you need it. Cool is the pay-off for a lot of hard work and creativity that often goes unnoticed.

Let’s start with your Matrix example. I think you’re completely wrong about the Matrix in that its fight scenes and bullet-time action are not cool only after a climactic build-up of its thought provoking plot, but because Matrix IS, in fact, a film that seeks to be particularly thought-provoking, it’s not a very good example for this.

Let’s take another film I would assume most people would hold in regard as cool: Star Wars.

Star Wars: A New Hope is not philosophical. At least, not particularly philosophical, and parsecs away from being realistic or practical. No, the elements of the film that capture its allure are things like lightsabers, John William’s legendary compositions, the witty lines from Kenobi, the force, R2-D2, Darth Vader, etc. Like I said, all of these things are far, far away from being practical or in the least bit factually correct. But not only were they “cool,” but they expanded the limits of our imagination as to what “cool” was. There was nothing like it before. Not a bit of it attributed to some kind of intelligent storyline. All the story had to do was “not suck” and leave room for the film’s engaging technology and exciting battles to shine. And this all happend BEFORE Vader dropped one of the largest plot twists in history.

Which brings me back to my previous point: The Rule of Cool isn’t some kind of excuse for a lack of creativity, using cliches to fill in gaping plot holes. It’s quite the opposite. If the author of a work manages to pull off a feat so amazing, so creative and so interesting that other flaws of the work or the feat incorporated pale in comparison, it’s a liberty well-earned.

There’s an entire genre of entertainment willing to validate this point: Martial Arts.

Bruce Lee openly admitted that he would never use a flying kick in a real martial arts situation. Jackie Chan would sooner beat the living crap out of a person with his fists than toy around with a shower curtain to dodge their moves. John Woo pulls off these amazing fight scenes that you would never see in any actual situation involving guns. But it works. Why? I don’t know. It’s just cool. It’s interesting to see just what they can accomplish with the human body, so we just take it in.

Saying that the Rule of Cool simply means you should stick explosions into your gaping plot holes is like saying that all you have to do is stick the same plot twist into every film to achieve the same result as its predecessor. The field of “awesome” demands as much creativity as any other.

Eric Maziade´s last blog post..The Rules of Sharing Narrative Control (and Improv)

I don’t think Chatty would advocate “swamping” with cool – except, of course, if that’s your favorite style of play… I’ll have to re-read to see which part gives that impression.

We touched on that subject on his blog post and agreed that “cool” cannot exist without “mundane”. Its all a matter of contrasts.

If everything in your campaign is “cool” then, by definition, nothing really is.

Eric Maziade´s last blog post..The Rules of Sharing Narrative Control (and Improv)

There is nothing you’ve written I disagree with.

Telling people to put suitably exciting scenes or plot twists in your adventure is good advice.

However, that isn’t what Chatty’s original post was about. He was talking about ’swamping his players with them’. Now that I think is bad advice.

Combine that with the terminology of ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’, and it becomes really, really bad advice. Though it is clear how I use those words seems to be different from a large number of other people (see my answer to Justaguy above).

Chris

I think you are 90% right. Cool is such a subjective term

There is also a real split between how people use ‘cool’ & ‘awesome’.

Some, such as surfers, use these words to describe anything that gives a pleasurable reaction. Whether it is the taste of a hot dog or winning $1 million on the lottery.

Other, and I include myself in this, have access to a larger vocabulary and use ‘cool’ to mean something remarkable or enviable. e.g. a ground break special effect (back to the Matrix and Neo dodging bullets).

Chris

If the DM and players feel that “cool” is anime, gravity defying action and non-stop explosions, than fine – put some in the game.

Personally (and for most people I play with), “cool” means unexpected (but believable) plot twists as well as creative solutions towards problem resolution.

For us, using RoC means that we are willing to bend the rules to allow some of these cool things to happen.

If “CGi driven tripe” isn’t cool for you and yours, then RoC doesn’t want you to put it in.

If find it hard to oppose a rule that only serves to remind you to add a bit of the stuff you like in the game you like.

(And I definitely do not feel like an idiot for doing it)

Eric Maziade´s last blog post..The Rules of Sharing Narrative Control (and Improv)

Cool is going to be defined by the group and individuals there in. It may in fact /be/ big CGI explosions and laser guns or it may be something simple and understated like an NPC that shows up again and again. *shrug* Honestly, I think it’s a lot of hooey over semantics.

(And on a non-gaming note, I tend to feel Matrix 2-3’s biggest flaw was that they were sequels. The story was shakier in application, and perhaps concept, than the first but they both suffered from it not being “new”. The Matrix broke ground and spawned a number of visual copy-cats. That saturation made them “not cool”. But that’s a separate issue from the whole gaming thing really…)

justaguy´s last blog post..Curb stomping quaists for fun and profit

No worries. My original post was also influenced by morning grumpiness and insufficient reading.

All the best

Chris

I think we’re just sitting on different sides of the same fence yet not that far from it.

I tried to redress that in my linking to your post on my side of the debate on my blog.

Peace man and happy new year,

The Chatty DM´s last blog post..The Rule of Cool takes flak