Fiasco – A Way to Heal Writer’s Block

As I sat to play Fiasco, I has mixed feelings. The games are designed for entertainment yet playing it is my English assignment. As well as that this game is the first multi player game of a sort that we encountered in our class, so group work would be crucial. However, as we started playing, we felt more comfortable with each other. From creating the relationships between the characters to interacting with each other and developing the plot we were able to design a unique story. Thus, as the game developed I was surprised how engaging it was to create a story together.

I like writing; however it is a very intimate process for me. Editing would be the only time I would be fine in working as a group when it comes to writing. Thus, the fact that we created a story altogether with such an ease was very surprising. Now that I look back I realize that we followed the same process that I would if I were to be writing alone. First the setting, then the characters and the relationship between them must be established. From then on we can slowly make the characters to interact and drive the story to the climax. The only difference from my way of creating the story and the one we used when playing Fiasco was its start.

I find it rather difficult to start a story in medias res, however Fiasco does it easily. As we established the relationships and their details, some conflicts already came under the light before we even started to play. For example, Jake’s character and mine were divorced and I was seeking revenge for the way he treated me. As well as that Christine’s and Jakes’ relationship’s detail was something they shared in the past. This already created a possible mystery. These details made the story intriguing from the start.

The way how we cooperated throughout the game was also quite interesting. At first I thought that it would be extremely hard for a person to understand what I mean and act accordingly, however we were all quick to catch the cues. Granted, sometimes the replies would raise a couple of eyebrows; for example, in Jake’s opinion the secret that he and Christine shared was a romantic relationship. However she surprised him by suddenly saying: “Someone found the body”. Little yet crucial things like that helped to not only develop the plot but added the spice to the game as you had to react accordingly and very quickly.  This reminded me of some theater exercises that my English professor did in my high school. What is said is said, and you cannot take it back. You must go along and develop the plot. If things do not go your way, then you need to adapt and still try to reach your desired result.

The last thing that I found very enjoyable in this game is that somehow by the end we tied all the characters together. One way or another all of us were connected and were in the same place during the climax. These connections reminded me of a movie Pulp Fiction where in the end all the characters are somehow related. The fact that this was not planned but happened as the story developed was even more peculiar. We were trying to make sure that the story makes sense and in the end involved everyone. Also, again without any specific intentions, we had some character developments as well. For example, my character went form a housewife that cherished her engagement ring to a drug successful drug dealer that got all the revenge she wanted.

Truthfully, I did not expect to be that engaged in a table top game. Playing this game was very like writing a story, however it has its own little differences, which is why I would recommend this game to anyone who is having a writer’s block. This game helps one to look at writing from a new perspective that can give some crucial insights. As well as that one would enjoy it if they have a good company.