Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Promotions/Press
Game Design 108: Realism vs. Fun
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="EP" data-source="post: 7650623" data-attributes="member: 41744"><p>I agree with the title (in that the title is meant to be eye-catching and grab your attention, but also the intention of the article). Yes, the game is meant to be fun, but there is such a thing as too much fun. I interpret the author's definition of "fun" as goofy hijinks where players are the definition of awesome and have very little to fear, versus the other extreme of being hardcore realistic where a PC can drop with just one bullet. And in that case, there is an incredibly fine line. </p><p></p><p>It's about suspension of disbelief during play and just reading a book or watching a movie and not getting involved or interested in the story because of plot holes or what have you, it affects your enjoyment of playing. For example, WAAAAAY back in high school, I played AD&D with a group of 7th-level whatevers and they dropped an ancient red dragon in one round. Not because they cheated in the rules, but because these players didn't get caught up in the particulars and meta-gamed their way through the battle. While they found it an awesome victory, I was disappointed. It was my first time in a fight with a dragon of any kind and it was over before I had a chance to take my turn. That was not fun and so I wasn't involved in the game. If it was that easy to bring down a dragon, what was the big deal about? Yet the other players thought it was great fun because they were awesome... in their eyes. </p><p></p><p>On the other hand, too much realism and players tend to become restricted in actions due to literal translations of the rules or become bogged down in technical matters. If your game stops because you need to find out if the dragon's breath weapon can wear down stone, it may apply for this category. </p><p></p><p>It's a delicate balancing act. The end result is fun, yes, but you have to draw from each side to create your own balancing act. That's what I took from this.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EP, post: 7650623, member: 41744"] I agree with the title (in that the title is meant to be eye-catching and grab your attention, but also the intention of the article). Yes, the game is meant to be fun, but there is such a thing as too much fun. I interpret the author's definition of "fun" as goofy hijinks where players are the definition of awesome and have very little to fear, versus the other extreme of being hardcore realistic where a PC can drop with just one bullet. And in that case, there is an incredibly fine line. It's about suspension of disbelief during play and just reading a book or watching a movie and not getting involved or interested in the story because of plot holes or what have you, it affects your enjoyment of playing. For example, WAAAAAY back in high school, I played AD&D with a group of 7th-level whatevers and they dropped an ancient red dragon in one round. Not because they cheated in the rules, but because these players didn't get caught up in the particulars and meta-gamed their way through the battle. While they found it an awesome victory, I was disappointed. It was my first time in a fight with a dragon of any kind and it was over before I had a chance to take my turn. That was not fun and so I wasn't involved in the game. If it was that easy to bring down a dragon, what was the big deal about? Yet the other players thought it was great fun because they were awesome... in their eyes. On the other hand, too much realism and players tend to become restricted in actions due to literal translations of the rules or become bogged down in technical matters. If your game stops because you need to find out if the dragon's breath weapon can wear down stone, it may apply for this category. It's a delicate balancing act. The end result is fun, yes, but you have to draw from each side to create your own balancing act. That's what I took from this. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Promotions/Press
Game Design 108: Realism vs. Fun
Top