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Gygax on Realism in Game Design
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<blockquote data-quote="triqui" data-source="post: 6009634" data-attributes="member: 57948"><p>I don't think so. He was making a point about "fun" being more important than "realism". He did not made a scale about it, or "how much realism is too much realism". Nor he was talking about complexity. You don't really need to make systems more complex to make them more realistic. For example: "you get maximum hit dice at first level. You roll your hit dice at second level. You don't gain more hit points, ever" isn't a complex rule. And it is much more "realistic" than having 200 hp at lvel 20 and being able to fall from the Empire State. His point (and I agree), is that fantasy RPG shouldn't try to be "realistic", they should try to be "fun". One could argue that the ablative mechanic of having a big bag of hit points work greatly as "plot protection" for the PC, and thus is inherently superior to other, more realistic mechanics where a single hit can kill you right on the spot. I certainly can live with HP, and honestly think they work great for D&D. Gygax point was, precisselly, that you shouldn't worry about your game being "realistic", but being "fun". Some people might agree with Gygax, and some others might disagree with him. This is no different than any other thing where Gary has a stance (like Vancian magic). Some people will agree, and some other will not.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="triqui, post: 6009634, member: 57948"] I don't think so. He was making a point about "fun" being more important than "realism". He did not made a scale about it, or "how much realism is too much realism". Nor he was talking about complexity. You don't really need to make systems more complex to make them more realistic. For example: "you get maximum hit dice at first level. You roll your hit dice at second level. You don't gain more hit points, ever" isn't a complex rule. And it is much more "realistic" than having 200 hp at lvel 20 and being able to fall from the Empire State. His point (and I agree), is that fantasy RPG shouldn't try to be "realistic", they should try to be "fun". One could argue that the ablative mechanic of having a big bag of hit points work greatly as "plot protection" for the PC, and thus is inherently superior to other, more realistic mechanics where a single hit can kill you right on the spot. I certainly can live with HP, and honestly think they work great for D&D. Gygax point was, precisselly, that you shouldn't worry about your game being "realistic", but being "fun". Some people might agree with Gygax, and some others might disagree with him. This is no different than any other thing where Gary has a stance (like Vancian magic). Some people will agree, and some other will not. [/QUOTE]
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