What!? How Do Ideas Create a Gaming Universe?

Somewhere beyond the spiraling mists of unknown time and space, a mysterious group of entities gathers together in a chamber. There they consult texts, speak of arcane formulas, and repeatedly toss fistfuls of glyph-inscribed polyhedra onto a flat plane. They doodle on scraps of parchment and speak of amazing or impossible deeds, gesticulating and occasionally ingesting a variety of greasy substances. The occasion is intense, yet mirthful; their invocations are earnest, yet bizarre. But as incomprehensible as it may seem, the gathering has a purpose, for the thoughts and words of these beings shape the very fabric of a series of impossibly ridiculous events which make up a story — then a whole web of stories — and finally the entire world of Gygaxia. To understand how a bunch of people sitting at a table can generate an entire universe, an examination of gameality’s most basic constituents — the particles and energies that make up Gygaxia — is required.

It begins with the knowledge that even in a fantasy world, big somethings are made of smaller somethings. In Gygaxia, the smallest possible particle is known as a quirk. Quirks are infinitesimal particles created as a result of the interaction of words and gestures inevitably exchanged between roleplayers. In a typical gaming session, zillions of quirks form, all identical to each other, and individually quite insignificant. However, because they’re not very interesting in themselves, quirks tend to attach to each other and bond into different kinds of particles. Each of these types of particles is called an element, and the four primary elements are setting, plot, style, and characterization. Legend has it that there is also a fifth element known as “theme.” Considered mythical by some, theme is said to grant a significance to events which, astoundingly, extends beyond the literal.

In any case, elements also bond together — less urgently than quirks, but for basically the same reasons, and in more complicated ways. In fact, the results of bonded elements are as diverse as the possibilities of a roleplaying game. And together, they make up the Great Narrative — in this case, the Gygaxian universe and everything that happens within it.

Therefore, in both literal and figurative senses, gameality is made up of ideas. Literally, of course, there’s no “universe” at all — it’s just a game being played by a bunch of imaginative people keen on having a good time. Figuratively, though, it’s also true because the universe is made out of quirks and elements — in other words, ideas — the basic constituents of stories.

Unlike the universes in some games, Gygaxia isn’t subjective. There are certain laws to which every Gygaxian is absolutely subject. That’s because it isn’t the beliefs of the characters which shape the ideas that make up the universe — it’s the beliefs of the players. Once the players have come to an agreement about what’s happening, the laws of the universe are objective and immutable.

Nevertheless, as universes with hardcore, inviolable laws of physics go, Gygaxia is an extraordinarily flexible locale. Since the players are primarily concerned with telling dramatic and comedic stories, all sorts things which couldn’t happen in a universe with more conventional physics can happen here. Which means, among other things, that magic happens, good drama wins out over gravity, and the quite literally impossible is, sometimes, a fact of life. Conventional physical laws, like inertia and the inevitability of death, certainly remain in effect under normal circumstances, all else being equal. It’s just that all else is so rarely equal, and hence other laws tend to win out against more conventional physics. As long as the players, who define the game concept, agree on it, anything whatever can be — meaning that the universe has some peculiarities which make it an excellent place for storytelling. For some of the most important examples of these laws, see Laws of Gameality.

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