Finite vs infinite games

Our roleplaying group has tried a number of systems in the last few months. We've done Godbound, The Veil, the new editions of Vampire, Mage and Werewolf, and we were recently getting ready to play some Star Trek and Star Without Number. While figuring out what to play next, we got into a discussion about some theories of roleplay games. One of the more interesting topics discussed was trying to figure out which games could be played virtually in perpetuity, and which games have finite lifespans. This is the topic I would like to discuss today.

Finite games

So, what makes a game finite? Basically, if there is a point where the group says "we have done everything there is to do, there is nothing else left", you know it's finished. While you could hit some reset button or thread water with some new plots that aren't a continuation of the previous adventures, that's not the point. After you defeat the biggest evil, save the world, ascend to godhood and all that, the story is done, anything you add after that won't live up to the previous accomplishments.

Exalted might be one of the better examples of a game that is set up in such a way as to be a finite game. In Exalted, you play the titular Exalted, a hero imbued with the power of a deity. Your destiny is to achieve great feats, and the world is your birthright as ordained by on high. In the default setting, the world is in a low point, rebuilding itself slowly after it was nearly destroyed centuries ago. There is a power vacuum that formed a few years back after the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, ruler of the biggest empire in the setting. Now with the reappearance of Solar Exalted, the world is at the dawn of the new era. More likely than not, your player characters will strive to take over this world and forge a new empire.

The setting is finite for a number of reasons. First off, the final goal is clear and achievable - your characters will want to conquer the world. Even if that's not the initial goal you set out to accomplish, you will gravitate towards it because of the second reason - the characters in the setting are meant to be entitled. They are the inheritors of the ancient heroes that saved the world from the tyrannical Titans - every creature, human and god in existence owes them an eternal debt, and their birthright has been proclaimed by the highest of the high gods - The Unconquered Sun. All they have to do is enforce it, which they can do because of the third reason - the characters get very strong very fast. While early on they might have problems surviving against stronger humans, they will soon blossom into the god killers they were always meant to be. The Exalted are the strongest force in the setting, having beaten an entire race of eldritch beings that created the world into submission and putting them all into the prison made out of their own flesh.

Because the characters are so strong, they become entitled. Because they are entitled, they will set out to conquer the setting. Because the setting can be conquered, the game has a natural end to it - it is finite. Once you conquer the world, assert yourself as the top dog of the top dogs, there is nothing you can add to the game to make it more meaningful, and the story ends. Our group played through that in 5 seasons of Princes of the Universe.

The same can be said about Godbound, a game where your end game is literally ascending onto the throne of god and ruling the entire world. To some extent, Chronicles of Darkness are similar - whether you are a Vampire aiming to become or puppet the Prince of your city, or a Mage aiming to achieve ultimate power over magic, there is only so much that can happen in the story before it reaches its natural conclusion.

There are a few other ways a game could be finite without having to be a result of power inflation. The game could be repetitive by its very nature. For example, the Shadowrun game to an extent is a variation on the same formula on repeat - you run a shadowrun. Sure, your guns get bigger, your enemies get tougher and all that, but in its core - run 20 is comparable to run 1. In a superhero genre, the story is generally about punching minions until you punch your way to the main villain, which you then punch and save the day...

Now, having the finite games in mind, let's figure out what games might need to do in order to potentially go on indefinitely.

Infinite games

Infinite games are those games that you could run potentially for years and not really get bored of them. You want them to have some staying power, a variety of things to do.

Our GM for example feels the Ravenloft setting might be an example of something that is conducive to infinite games. In Ravenloft, you play your D&D style adventurers in a gothic horror setting. There are dark powers moving in the shadows and mysteries abound. Foul creatures stalking the land, powerful evil lurking in their dark towers. Life is harsh, virtue is rare.

In other words, you have a rich setting, filled with endless mysteries and an attitude in which whatever good the players might do, it will be noticeable. The characters don't have to set out to defeat the biggest evil and to save everyone. There might not even be a way to accomplish that. However, if they set out to help one person, or a village, or even act virtuous in the uncaring world, they are already an improvement. Moreover, since the characters can only get so powerful, there is no real expectation that they will be able to face off against the biggest horrors or even become very significant players in the grand scheme of things.

On the flip side, you might look at games that mimic the episodic format of a TV show. Star Trek Adventures is a good example of that - the game sessions feel like episodes of Star Trek. In STA, the players take the tole of Starfleet officers. They are not just some low-level redshirts mind you - the PCs start off at the level of Kirk, Picard or Spock. They are every bit as capable, trained and heroic. The main thrust of the game doesn't come from overcoming bigger and bigger problems, but with immersing oneself in the universe of the show. The players can set out to explore new worlds, deal with deep philosophical problems, or try to make the best of a bad situation.

From session to sessions, the characters don't advance as much as you'd expect from a traditional RPG. After a session, the character might change, reflecting their changing values. The growth happens very infrequently and isn't that substantial in comparison to the power level the characters start at.

While this on one hand sounds like the problem mentioned in the past section where the game should be essentially the same in session 1 and 20, it solves the problem of power creep. The variety of stories that can be told with the system and the setting should be wide enough not to fall into a repetitive cycle of gameplay hopefully.

For another example, I think Stars Without Number might be a good candidate for an infinite game system. In the setting, the players play a group of space adventurers in the vein of Firefly. The world is recovering from a calamity that fractured the galaxy into disconnected sectors. After a long period of isolation, many new cultures formed and took to the stars. There are mysteries to explore, ancient ruins to plunder, and loot to find.

What helps the longevity is the sandbox nature of the game. The core rulebook is packed with ways of generating random planets, there are supplements for random adventures, and even books for running a specific style of game (space trader, naval officer, merc, espionage). Moreover, the game encourages the GM to simulate Factions - large interstellar entities that will struggle with one another in the sector (example of these Faction Turns being streamed). All of this is poised to create many opportunities for the players to get involved with the setting.

Lastly, there is only so much a single character can do on its own in the setting. This goes well with one of the philosophies expressed in the core book - "don't keep the players starving". If the group gets a lucky break and earns a bank, they can't really make themselves overpowered. There are no all-powerful artefacts in the setting, there is only so much gear you can buy and carry, starships are still very expensive and require a large crew, and if all else fails - flaunting your wealth is sure to invite someone else to try taking it from you. A very successful character might be an admiral of a fleet, a factor of a merchant guild, or perhaps a ruler of a planet. They are still a single, mortal person that is as likely to get stabbed as they were before. They might be better defended, but they have also became a bigger target. Or the characters might end up as a full-time for-hire adventurer like Han Solo, working with a trusted friend, travelling the stars and making a living through random jobs.

So to sum all up, here are some factors that might help a game reach the infinite game potential, based on the examples above:

• The characters need to be small fish in a big pond - they shouldn't grow too powerful over the course of the game.
• The world needs to be bigger than the players - it shouldn't wait for them to come in and solve everything, but move on its own naturally.
• Focus on mysteries, but keep them contained - solving a mystery is always enticing, and they can be very varied. However, not all of the mysteries should be connected into some giant conspiracy - sometimes a problem happens in isolation and that's fine.
• Vary the problems - sometimes you want to focus on combat, other times on a social problem, and yet another time on some deductive mystery. By keeping the problems the PCs have to overcome varied, it prevents the games from feeling stale.

With these guidelines in mind, you should be able to run a very lengthy game. After all, while short games or one-shots may be fun, sometimes you want to keep coming back to the same setting and player over and over again.