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Blog Post by Robert J. Schwalb
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<blockquote data-quote="ExploderWizard" data-source="post: 6325924" data-attributes="member: 66434"><p>This is where the separation of fluff & crunch really did the game a disservice. The old way of searching involved interacting with the setting. As a player, the setting and what it contained were important game elements. Game play involved interacting with the game world through the description/inquiry/clarification feedback loop. Players tend to pay attention to setting details when they matter in the resolution of play. </p><p></p><p>The modern game that skips the "boring" stuff revolves almost exclusively with interacting with the mechanics. An endless repetition of " I search, I got a 22". It doesn't matter what is in the room, what or where something is. Heck, the room doesn't even NEED a description for that matter. Everything is tuned out that isn't relevant to the outcome of the mechanical interaction. The game world can be a 2 dimensional grease painting for all that it matters. Players could care less about what is in a room because the setting is divorced from the resolution of play.</p><p></p><p></p><p>That kind of rules structure rewards players who focus on building better mousetraps and concentrating on what their PC CAN do instead of what is happening in the game world. Players who don't really care about or engage with the setting (because it isn't required to win), eventually cause the GM to stop caring about the setting as well (why bother with setting detail if the players just ignore it?),and when the GM stops caring about the setting the whole game begins to come apart. </p><p></p><p>I suppose we have different tastes but endlessly droning " I search" and rolling a die (and metagaming by taking 20 if the result isn't high) is way more boring than poking and prodding a fictional environment. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Can you give an example of a 3E or 4E adventure challenge that doesn't involve either a combat or getting X or higher on a die roll?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ExploderWizard, post: 6325924, member: 66434"] This is where the separation of fluff & crunch really did the game a disservice. The old way of searching involved interacting with the setting. As a player, the setting and what it contained were important game elements. Game play involved interacting with the game world through the description/inquiry/clarification feedback loop. Players tend to pay attention to setting details when they matter in the resolution of play. The modern game that skips the "boring" stuff revolves almost exclusively with interacting with the mechanics. An endless repetition of " I search, I got a 22". It doesn't matter what is in the room, what or where something is. Heck, the room doesn't even NEED a description for that matter. Everything is tuned out that isn't relevant to the outcome of the mechanical interaction. The game world can be a 2 dimensional grease painting for all that it matters. Players could care less about what is in a room because the setting is divorced from the resolution of play. That kind of rules structure rewards players who focus on building better mousetraps and concentrating on what their PC CAN do instead of what is happening in the game world. Players who don't really care about or engage with the setting (because it isn't required to win), eventually cause the GM to stop caring about the setting as well (why bother with setting detail if the players just ignore it?),and when the GM stops caring about the setting the whole game begins to come apart. I suppose we have different tastes but endlessly droning " I search" and rolling a die (and metagaming by taking 20 if the result isn't high) is way more boring than poking and prodding a fictional environment. Can you give an example of a 3E or 4E adventure challenge that doesn't involve either a combat or getting X or higher on a die roll? [/QUOTE]
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