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<blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6989324" data-attributes="member: 6775031">Actually, I'll take it further. This example is Vincent Baker explaining a traditional RPG, such as AD&amp;D circa 1990, which he then goes on to contrast with less-traditional games.The entire point of the system being described here is that you start with narrative cloud-stuff, and the game mechanics convert that into quantifiable cube-stuff for the purposes of determining resolution, which is then translated back into cloud-stuff so we can continue on with the narrative. It's exactly like doing a word problem in math class, or running a simulation in your CAD program of choice, except that the math is simple enough for us to calculate by hand and we're actually invested in the outcome.It's important that we start with a right arrow between the cloud and the cube, and close the loop with a left arrow between the cube and the cloud. If we only had right arrows, then we wouldn't care about the outcome of any of the mechanics because it wouldn't impact the narrative at all. If we only had left arrows, then nothing we did in the narrative would really matter since it doesn't contribute toward determining the outcome in any way. You need both of them if you're going to have a significant game, of the type which this model represents.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 6989324, member: 6775031"] Actually, I'll take it further. This example is Vincent Baker explaining a traditional RPG, such as AD&D circa 1990, which he then goes on to contrast with less-traditional games. The entire point of the system being described here is that you start with narrative cloud-stuff, and the game mechanics convert that into quantifiable cube-stuff for the purposes of determining resolution, which is then translated back into cloud-stuff so we can continue on with the narrative. It's exactly like doing a word problem in math class, or running a simulation in your CAD program of choice, except that the math is simple enough for us to calculate by hand and we're actually invested in the outcome. It's important that we start with a right arrow between the cloud and the cube, and close the loop with a left arrow between the cube and the cloud. If we only had right arrows, then we wouldn't care about the outcome of any of the mechanics because it wouldn't impact the narrative at all. If we only had left arrows, then nothing we did in the narrative would really matter since it doesn't contribute toward determining the outcome in any way. You need both of them if you're going to have a significant game, of the type which this model represents. [/QUOTE]

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