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Jon Peterson: Does System Matter?
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<blockquote data-quote="chaochou" data-source="post: 8199884" data-attributes="member: 99817"><p>You've started from a false premise, and that's why you reach poor conclusions.</p><p></p><p>'System matters' is no more problematic as a statement than 'metal matters'.</p><p></p><p>That doesn't mean that some metals 'are better' than others - because the only way such a statement can possibly have meaning is if one asks 'better at what?' But you fail to ask that question.</p><p></p><p>Does it matter if I use lead instead of copper to wire my house, or pig iron on a circuit board, or aluminium to shield an x-ray machine?</p><p></p><p>According to you, it doesn't, because that would suggest inherent failings in specific metals which would be a grave insult to them. This analysis is a farce, but it's the one you pursue.</p><p></p><p>The real analysis is to say 'What does Burning Wheel do better than Traveller?' or 'What does Dungeon World do better than D&D?'</p><p></p><p>Sadly, honest analysis of such questions from people with experience of said systems runs into problems on these boards because:</p><p></p><p>i) many posters are incapable of accepting that D&D doesn't do absolutely everything perfectly - even things for which it has no rules compared to games which have detailed and excellent rules for such things. So the claim that Star Fleet Battles does space combat better than D&D gets rejected out of hand. The idea that Burning Wheel does player agency better than D&D gets rejected out of hand. People start from the assumption that they can't be true and go from there. This is exacerbated by...</p><p></p><p>ii) many times posters involved in such conversations have zero experience of at least one, and often many, of the systems being discussed, and yet post as if they have such experience. Then when it's revealed, they claim they don't need any experience to know better about a game than those who have played it. Such things don't seem to be against forum rules, while challenging it runs risks.</p><p></p><p>Frankly, if you can't post actual play to back up your points about a named and specific system, I don't think any 'analysis' is worth a damn.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="chaochou, post: 8199884, member: 99817"] You've started from a false premise, and that's why you reach poor conclusions. 'System matters' is no more problematic as a statement than 'metal matters'. That doesn't mean that some metals 'are better' than others - because the only way such a statement can possibly have meaning is if one asks 'better at what?' But you fail to ask that question. Does it matter if I use lead instead of copper to wire my house, or pig iron on a circuit board, or aluminium to shield an x-ray machine? According to you, it doesn't, because that would suggest inherent failings in specific metals which would be a grave insult to them. This analysis is a farce, but it's the one you pursue. The real analysis is to say 'What does Burning Wheel do better than Traveller?' or 'What does Dungeon World do better than D&D?' Sadly, honest analysis of such questions from people with experience of said systems runs into problems on these boards because: i) many posters are incapable of accepting that D&D doesn't do absolutely everything perfectly - even things for which it has no rules compared to games which have detailed and excellent rules for such things. So the claim that Star Fleet Battles does space combat better than D&D gets rejected out of hand. The idea that Burning Wheel does player agency better than D&D gets rejected out of hand. People start from the assumption that they can't be true and go from there. This is exacerbated by... ii) many times posters involved in such conversations have zero experience of at least one, and often many, of the systems being discussed, and yet post as if they have such experience. Then when it's revealed, they claim they don't need any experience to know better about a game than those who have played it. Such things don't seem to be against forum rules, while challenging it runs risks. Frankly, if you can't post actual play to back up your points about a named and specific system, I don't think any 'analysis' is worth a damn. [/QUOTE]
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