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<blockquote data-quote="Uller" data-source="post: 5631108" data-attributes="member: 413">Okay...I read the original &quot;theory&quot; and random smatterings of this thread...so maybe I missed it...What is the difference between &quot;dissociated&quot; rules and abstractions?Every game mechanic is an abstraction.&nbsp; Not every mechanic can possibly be tied back to some sort of rule about how the world works...in fact, I would postualate that NO mechanic can be satisfactorily associated to the game world.Take the most fundamental:&nbsp; Using a dice to resolve random chance.&nbsp; Imagine, a wizard decides to experiment with how well he can use a spell to knock squirrels out of trees.&nbsp; He observes that when he hits a squirrel with a particular spell that has a forced move effect it has exactly a 45% chance to cause the squirrel to fall from the tree.&nbsp; Why?He does this with other spells and other circumstance, repeating the spell 10s of thousands of times...always 45%.&nbsp; WTH?Then he observes that every random event has a probability of occurring in increments of 5%.&nbsp; I suppose he could do one of two things:&nbsp; He could postulate the theory that (in the universe in which he lives) randomness is discreet and divided into some sort of &quot;particle&quot; of discreet size...or he could realize that there is no explanation...it is dissociated from reality and then watch as his world turns into a backgammon board in a puff of logic (to borrow from Douglas Adams's babble fish).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Uller, post: 5631108, member: 413"] Okay...I read the original "theory" and random smatterings of this thread...so maybe I missed it... What is the difference between "dissociated" rules and abstractions? Every game mechanic is an abstraction. Not every mechanic can possibly be tied back to some sort of rule about how the world works...in fact, I would postualate that NO mechanic can be satisfactorily associated to the game world. Take the most fundamental: Using a dice to resolve random chance. Imagine, a wizard decides to experiment with how well he can use a spell to knock squirrels out of trees. He observes that when he hits a squirrel with a particular spell that has a forced move effect it has exactly a 45% chance to cause the squirrel to fall from the tree. Why? He does this with other spells and other circumstance, repeating the spell 10s of thousands of times...always 45%. WTH? Then he observes that every random event has a probability of occurring in increments of 5%. I suppose he could do one of two things: He could postulate the theory that (in the universe in which he lives) randomness is discreet and divided into some sort of "particle" of discreet size...or he could realize that there is no explanation...it is dissociated from reality and then watch as his world turns into a backgammon board in a puff of logic (to borrow from Douglas Adams's babble fish). [/QUOTE]

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