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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8971379" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Having a united mission does not make them identical. I love it--absolutely <em>adore</em> it--when mechanics and story sing in perfect harmony. It's why I love 4e's Lay on Hands more than any other version ever made. Because, unlike every other version I've seen* (which is either "roll and maybe you get something" or, more commonly, "you have a pool of X points to spend"), 4e Lay on Hands is <em>very literally</em>, "I give of myself, to replenish you." You are sacrificing your own vitality (healing surges) in order to heal others.</p><p></p><p>But that harmony is beautiful in part because it is an effort. It doesn't happen naturally. Game and story may work toward a common goal, but often do so in very different ways. It is story-appropriate, for example, that Wizards are probably relatively rare among adventurers, because to even <em>become</em> a Wizard you need an extensive education in most cases. We accept, however, that the representation of Wizards amongst adventurers does not entirely jive with most ways the class is presented narratively, because it is more valuable to <em>let players play what they want to play</em>--a fully, 100% game-centric motivation with no story component at all--than it is to accurately model the demographics of the fantasy setting. Conversely, it is not because of gameplay value that the writers spend a meaningful chunk of time talking about things like economics or ecology; that time <em>could</em> have been spent working on mechanical things instead, but it is valuable in and of itself to have information about the ecology, culture, economics, history, and technology of the world, even if large sections of those things are <em>never</em> relevant to anyone's actual game. Those things are purely story-centric, with no game component at all.</p><p></p><p>Further, I have stressed repeatedly the fact that there are actually <em>more</em> story-centric ways to address these concerns. Diegetic solutions and prepared safety nets are both things which actually inject <em>new</em> story, not just <em>enabling</em> the existing story to continue.</p><p></p><p>We are playing a game. We are also telling a story. Lose either one, and the experience dies. Sometimes, the two walk hand in hand. Other times, one is pushing while the other is pulling: different actions, common goals. It is useful to recognize that this is true, and thus useful to recognize that there is value in questions about how the game is played and what "the rules" even <em>are</em>, as rules. (Just as it is useful to recognize that there is value questions about how the story is told, and what "the story" even <em>is</em>, as a story.)</p><p></p><p>* Well, there's also 13A, but it's essentially the 4e version ported over, no surprise given Heinsoo was a lead designer for both games.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8971379, member: 6790260"] Having a united mission does not make them identical. I love it--absolutely [I]adore[/I] it--when mechanics and story sing in perfect harmony. It's why I love 4e's Lay on Hands more than any other version ever made. Because, unlike every other version I've seen* (which is either "roll and maybe you get something" or, more commonly, "you have a pool of X points to spend"), 4e Lay on Hands is [I]very literally[/I], "I give of myself, to replenish you." You are sacrificing your own vitality (healing surges) in order to heal others. But that harmony is beautiful in part because it is an effort. It doesn't happen naturally. Game and story may work toward a common goal, but often do so in very different ways. It is story-appropriate, for example, that Wizards are probably relatively rare among adventurers, because to even [I]become[/I] a Wizard you need an extensive education in most cases. We accept, however, that the representation of Wizards amongst adventurers does not entirely jive with most ways the class is presented narratively, because it is more valuable to [I]let players play what they want to play[/I]--a fully, 100% game-centric motivation with no story component at all--than it is to accurately model the demographics of the fantasy setting. Conversely, it is not because of gameplay value that the writers spend a meaningful chunk of time talking about things like economics or ecology; that time [I]could[/I] have been spent working on mechanical things instead, but it is valuable in and of itself to have information about the ecology, culture, economics, history, and technology of the world, even if large sections of those things are [I]never[/I] relevant to anyone's actual game. Those things are purely story-centric, with no game component at all. Further, I have stressed repeatedly the fact that there are actually [I]more[/I] story-centric ways to address these concerns. Diegetic solutions and prepared safety nets are both things which actually inject [I]new[/I] story, not just [I]enabling[/I] the existing story to continue. We are playing a game. We are also telling a story. Lose either one, and the experience dies. Sometimes, the two walk hand in hand. Other times, one is pushing while the other is pulling: different actions, common goals. It is useful to recognize that this is true, and thus useful to recognize that there is value in questions about how the game is played and what "the rules" even [I]are[/I], as rules. (Just as it is useful to recognize that there is value questions about how the story is told, and what "the story" even [I]is[/I], as a story.) * Well, there's also 13A, but it's essentially the 4e version ported over, no surprise given Heinsoo was a lead designer for both games. [/QUOTE]
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