Tony Vargas
Legend
Trying to define hit points in any remotely restrictive/simulationist way is /like/ writing midi-chlorians into your campaign, sure.
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D&D General Do you think video gamers experience existential crises over the nature of Hit Points?
- Thread starter Prakriti
- Start date
Don Durito
Hero
You know...back when in the distant past when I used to actually play computer games, I did find that hit points took me out of the experience a bit.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, they kept me detached from seeing them as real plausible people.
But of course, when you get down to it, the sheer scale and scope of the violence they both perpetuated and endured did far more along those lines.
(And lest that sound like I'm condemning that violence, I'm really not - just that if the goal of computer games was really to produce a deeply immersive experience of seeing the world through the eyes of another person that feels like a genuine individual than more than just HPs would have to be changed.)
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, they kept me detached from seeing them as real plausible people.
But of course, when you get down to it, the sheer scale and scope of the violence they both perpetuated and endured did far more along those lines.
(And lest that sound like I'm condemning that violence, I'm really not - just that if the goal of computer games was really to produce a deeply immersive experience of seeing the world through the eyes of another person that feels like a genuine individual than more than just HPs would have to be changed.)
DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
Since I don't read/belong to any video game forums, I can't speak as to what people discuss there.
To some of the other issues raised, to me playing TTRPGs and video games create different emotions. The video games I play usually create tension through the action and environment. It can get my adrenal going at times when the action is severe. First-person games like MechWarrrior, strategy games like StarCraft, shooter games like Quake, and others such as Tomb Raider have all given me a lot of fun playing them back in the day.
The best suspense game for me was Thief: Deadly Shadows and the level with the Cradle. Now, it was 2 AM, everything was dark, and I had surround sound for my PC. All of that combined made for quite the night. I told my friend about it and when he played his girlfriend was with him. Apparently, she was clinging to him and just as tense as he was.
Now, everyone gets something different from games, of course.
But in a recent D&D session, one player got so into the battle and trying to rescue the villagers (or keep them safe anyway) from the hags, he actually had to stand up and take a deep breath, walk around a bit, and try to calm himself down. It was intense, I must admit!
In many battles when a character is low on HP, suddenly things change for them and now they go on the defensive, hollering for help/ assistance, etc. Of course, the same thing happens in video games as well. The biggest difference IMO is recovering/resetting in a video game is often easier than in an TTRPG. If you die in a video game, no big deal (usually), you just reload the last save point or whatever and try again, safe in the new knowledge from the last time through.
To some of the other issues raised, to me playing TTRPGs and video games create different emotions. The video games I play usually create tension through the action and environment. It can get my adrenal going at times when the action is severe. First-person games like MechWarrrior, strategy games like StarCraft, shooter games like Quake, and others such as Tomb Raider have all given me a lot of fun playing them back in the day.
The best suspense game for me was Thief: Deadly Shadows and the level with the Cradle. Now, it was 2 AM, everything was dark, and I had surround sound for my PC. All of that combined made for quite the night. I told my friend about it and when he played his girlfriend was with him. Apparently, she was clinging to him and just as tense as he was.
Now, everyone gets something different from games, of course.
But in a recent D&D session, one player got so into the battle and trying to rescue the villagers (or keep them safe anyway) from the hags, he actually had to stand up and take a deep breath, walk around a bit, and try to calm himself down. It was intense, I must admit!
In many battles when a character is low on HP, suddenly things change for them and now they go on the defensive, hollering for help/ assistance, etc. Of course, the same thing happens in video games as well. The biggest difference IMO is recovering/resetting in a video game is often easier than in an TTRPG. If you die in a video game, no big deal (usually), you just reload the last save point or whatever and try again, safe in the new knowledge from the last time through.
Cap'n Kobold
Hero
Maybe not Dark Souls or WoW games, which are deliberately based around some D&D tropes.In any case, I believe the answer to all these questions is no -- video gamers don't care about these things; they just accept hit points for what they are, a condition of the game, and have fun within those parameters. Only tabletop players spend hours ringing their hands and their minds trying to "make sense" of hit points and what they truly represent.
So... are they crazy?
...or are we?
However I'm pretty sure I've seen multiple debates on hit points or similar damage mechanics in first person shooters. Generally when complaining about the number of bullets some opponent or other is capable of taking to the face whilst still remaining able to shoot back.
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