If I am running a pre-planned role-playing scenario, how and when can it work to start the session in medias res? The narrative technique can work so well in literature, film and video to increase dramatic tension both in the short term (i.e. the immediacy of the action) and the longer term (why were the characters in this situation in the first place?), and I am wondering if and how to incorporate as a GM technique in general.
While I can easily imagine setting a scene just so:
GM: Everyone ready? OK, shots ricochet off the pavement and building sides as you three sprint through the darkened streets of this industrial district. Debbie has got the flash drive with the files and is leading. Craig is just behind her, and Wilma is lagging by ten steps or so. You can hear the shouts of the goons chasing you, and it sounds like there are several on paralleling streets, along with the ones two blocks back. Across the next intersection, a major artery, is an overpass, and what looks like a maze of local streets.
But in an RPG context I don't know whether this just sets us up for immediate demand for a long exposition as to the who, what, why, etc. of the opening scene, rather than focusing player interaction on resolving the scenario. In literature and film, the more passive role of the reader or viewer makes it simple for the author or director to defer such exposition, which might unfold in pieces or in a single coherent exposition much later in the narrative.
What I want to avoid is the players needing to understand the history and reasons for why they are in this scenario in the first place. So I would rather not have them start by asking, for example, "what is on the drive?" "What city is this?" "Why did we chose to hit that company for its IP?" "For goodness sakes, I am playing a concert flutist! How did I end up in this scene?!"
The answers I am looking for will draw on your own experiences, underscore how and why in medias res can prove rewarding for players, and possibly include dos and don'ts for the GM.
Best Answer
Let the players make up all that stuff!
How about letting the players fill the rest of the exposition? So following from your quote:
Here you are allowing the players to come up with interesting ideas about what and how things unfold. You can then incorporate whatever was made up into your game.
I started several games just like that: No one had characters, states, or background: just names and a situation. Things moved on from there as they described themselves, what they were doing, and what skills they had.
The main rules we had were don't be a dick and never knowingly contradict someone else's story. These are fairly simple really. Also, because you are creating the world as you go, whatever you say is what happens. So, it's best to leave things open ended and not closed. So, in your example, what would be the point of Wilma saying "I take out my nuke grenade and blow the alley so the buildings collapse(1)." In that respect, an idea of what style and themes you wanted to play helps: is it a gritty noire cyberpunk setting or a super hero show a la Arrow/Flash/Daredevil?
One of the games we ran several times started with
That was it! No setting, no 'nuffing. Everything was build up from the ground up. Try it next time you have a couple hours to kill with your group.
As mxyzplk stated in a comment:
The first point is indeed spot on.
As to the second point, it still work even in a simulationist game if your idea of role playing is building a collaborative story where both GM and Players have input as to where the story goes and generate content on the fly. On the other hand, if the GM does not allow this and/or treat the game as a "GM vs Players", then in medias res cannot work as the players are denied full knowledge of the situation. Clearly, if the characters lack said knowledge, that would work as Nvoigt's fine answers suggest.
(1) Although, I can think of a fun game based off that too!