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On Behavioral Realism
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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7949097" data-attributes="member: 4937"><p>Because generally a group has more than one aesthetic of play, and if that is the case (as it obviously is) catering to only one of them is a recipe for boredom and disinterest from one or more players (particularly the GM).</p><p></p><p>This goes doubly true for actions which not only ignore an aesthetic of play, they actively interfere with the enjoyment of other participants (again including the GM). It's not impossible to have a situation where the same choices can be tactically superior, mechanically satisfying and narratively appropriate at the same time. Those aesthetics of play do not have to be mutually exclusive.</p><p></p><p>Where problems tend to happen is if the mechanics are pointing in directions contrary to what is narratively appropriate. If the PC is really a filthy beast and the player is choosing to play that way for a combination of reasons, that's perfectly fine and bothers basically no one (unless it is spotlight stealing, which is a whole other issue). But what you tend to find is players that are metagaming, playing their characters in a way that maximizes benefit mechanically (in this case, saving maintenance costs so as to purchase better gear), because they believe such actions carry no consequences.</p><p></p><p>For example, systems rarely have the granularity to care much about things that are inconvenient - like be miserable but not being actually injured. So players tend to insist their characters heroically and stalwartly persist through any hardship because the game says in essence that their is no consequence to doing so. And to a certain extent for a heroic game that's fine. But there comes a point were skipping meals, marching through the night, and being cold and damp ought to start mattering and does matter even in heroic fiction. If you don't have rules for 'comfort' then a lot of stories can't be told, and players will tend to produce transcripts of play that are silly and not compelling.</p><p></p><p>Which is why relatively simple rules that say, "If you don't pay attention to comfort, eventually your security will degrade.", actually add a lot to gameplay.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 7949097, member: 4937"] Because generally a group has more than one aesthetic of play, and if that is the case (as it obviously is) catering to only one of them is a recipe for boredom and disinterest from one or more players (particularly the GM). This goes doubly true for actions which not only ignore an aesthetic of play, they actively interfere with the enjoyment of other participants (again including the GM). It's not impossible to have a situation where the same choices can be tactically superior, mechanically satisfying and narratively appropriate at the same time. Those aesthetics of play do not have to be mutually exclusive. Where problems tend to happen is if the mechanics are pointing in directions contrary to what is narratively appropriate. If the PC is really a filthy beast and the player is choosing to play that way for a combination of reasons, that's perfectly fine and bothers basically no one (unless it is spotlight stealing, which is a whole other issue). But what you tend to find is players that are metagaming, playing their characters in a way that maximizes benefit mechanically (in this case, saving maintenance costs so as to purchase better gear), because they believe such actions carry no consequences. For example, systems rarely have the granularity to care much about things that are inconvenient - like be miserable but not being actually injured. So players tend to insist their characters heroically and stalwartly persist through any hardship because the game says in essence that their is no consequence to doing so. And to a certain extent for a heroic game that's fine. But there comes a point were skipping meals, marching through the night, and being cold and damp ought to start mattering and does matter even in heroic fiction. If you don't have rules for 'comfort' then a lot of stories can't be told, and players will tend to produce transcripts of play that are silly and not compelling. Which is why relatively simple rules that say, "If you don't pay attention to comfort, eventually your security will degrade.", actually add a lot to gameplay. [/QUOTE]
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