Player Control, OR "How the game has changed over the years, and why I don't like it"

[The Shaman]

So would "flat on his back, prone", since "prone" in common English usage simply means "lying down". It may have narrower definitions, but those definitions aren't in general use, and the English language is defined through usage, not regulated via academia.

Already addressed this in my previous post: the use of prone, in English usage, implies face down, or if you prefer, ventral surface to supporting surface.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

I find it difficult to be much excised about the how gamers view "prone", after the brutal murder of the meaning of "Deus ex Machina" perpetuated a few years back.

I do wonder, though, given several threads running right now, what happens when you knock a snake woman prone. I wasn't mean enough to ask this question in Shark's topic.

 

[Ariosto]

I begin the process of creating the fiction without referencing the mechanics. Indeed, I choose the mechanics that match the fiction after the basics of the fiction are established. The fiction comes first.

Balesir can speak for himself, of course, but all I am seeing in his argument is a petty semantic quibble.

Namely, I think his insistence is that "Raven Crowking makes it up" is a 'mechanic'.

 

[Fifth Element]

Already addressed this in my previous post: the use of prone, in English usage, implies face down, or if you prefer, ventral surface to supporting surface.

Sorry, dude, I'm a native speaker of English, as are the others arguing against this, so far as I can tell. We use English, just as you do. Prone, in everyday usage, can mean simply lying down without specifying which side is up. I know this because I use it this way myself and people understand me, and I've heard others use it this way and understood them. We can't be "wrong", since the purpose of language is communication. And since you're the first to make a fuss about using prone to mean face-down only, it seems everyone else in this thread to date understood what was meant by it.

On top of that, one of the dictionary definitions makes no mention of which side is up. You're ignoring that definition and focusing on (ie, "cherry-picking") the other, more specific definition which is used to differentiate it from supine (suggested by the fact that supine only has the precise version of the definition).

If you're a surgeon, prone vs. supine is a useful and necessary differentiation to make. But in everyday usage, it's generally not important, and that's why prone can also have the more general meaning of lying down. That's why we use it as such.

And I think that's enough of this derailment.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Balesir can speak for himself, of course, but all I am seeing in his argument is a petty semantic quibble.

Namely, I think his insistence is that "Raven Crowking makes it up" is a 'mechanic'.

The mechanics come before the fiction because creating the fiction is a mechanic?



So, when I write a short story, I'm actually making a game scenario?



Frankly, I'm floored by this. Totally supine!


RC



PS: Sorry, but you know that I am prone to bad jokes!

 

[Ariosto]

Well, at least you're not excised.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I think that when this thread has diverged so far from the original premise that it is merely talking about the definitions of 'prone', it has probably reached the end of its useful life.

What normally happens in threads once they reach this stage is that some people in entrenched positions end up getting heated and potentially banned.

So I'm going to take the step of closing this thread now. I think Wik has had a good chance to discuss the question he originally raised.

If you think there are any untravelled walkways in this thread which are worth continuing, please feel free to start a new thread on that specific topic.

Thanks