Play Is Paramount: Discuss

[soviet]

I find it ... fascinating that you don't think the point of the meal is to eat it.

It's to follow the time-honoured instructions of the ancient cooks, see the fat of the steak with your own two eyes, and inhale the verisimilitude of the potatoes.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I find it ... fascinating that you don't think the point of the meal is to eat it.

The point of cooking as an activity is not necessarily to eat the results.

 

[Micah Sweet]

This metaphor is getting messy. The actual referent - RPGs - has two parts: reading/prep and play. Cooking seems to have been split into more parts and the relationship between cooking and eating versus RPG play is all over the place. It's all getting a bit ecumenical.

The point is that you have the preparation of a thing and the thing itself. In both cases the thing itself is why the books exist at all. That doesn't mean people can't just read them of course, but that doesn't change their core function.

It doesn't matter what their intended purpose is if an individual uses them for a different one.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I mean, see my previous comments. I’ve already addressed this with a number of comparisons of my own. Notably, mine used more relevant points of comparison in the form of games.

Rather than this clumsy cooking analogy that doesn’t really hold up at all because you’ve failed to make the obvious point of comparison.

Namely…



Exactly. Eating is what’s paramount to cooking. That’s why people do it. Itis the”play” of the metaphor. Could there be other reasons to cook? Sure… but those are edge cases and don’t change the actual point.



This is why cooking probably isn’t the best metaphor. Because when we set out to cook, we’re almost always making something specific. You don’t start with beef and tortillas and rice and then somehow wind up with gnocchi.



I mean, you haven’t seen the point for pages now.

But maybe what would help is if you addressed some of the comparisons I made. They include activities that involve play, so they’re better than this cooking nonsense.

When I set up the soccer field for my kid’s league, was I playing soccer?

When I was a kid and used my grandfather’s chess set as action figures to act out little made up scenarios, was I playing chess?

In both cases I would be engaging with the hobby of soccer or chess, in some way or form. Playing the actual games isn't necessary for that, so it doesn't matter to me that they are intended for play.

 

[Reynard]

Didn't we already have this thread?

 

[Fenris-77]

It doesn't matter what their intended purpose is if an individual uses them for a different one.

Well, um, yes, it actually does. What you do with a book has nothing to do with what its 'supposed' to be for. I mean sure, roll with solipsism, but that's not how real life works. Your use for something isn't what defines what its for, sorry.

To be clear, what you personally do with RPG books has no bearing on this thread one way or another.

 

[hawkeyefan]

In both cases I would be engaging with the hobby of soccer or chess, in some way or form. Playing the actual games isn't necessary for that, so it doesn't matter to me that they are intended for play.

No one is arguing that the hobby is not being engaged in some way.

It’s about defining any and all engagement as “play”. Which seems to obfuscate more than anything.

Like, if I said I saw Stephen Hawking play baseball one time, I’d expect some confusion. If I clarified by saying “oh, well… he was talking about baseball, so that means he was playing” people would look at me like I was insane.

It’s just silly.

 

[Agamon]

The point of cooking as an activity is not necessarily to eat the results.

I mean, this is quite true if you are a terrible cook.

 

[Lanefan]

I strongly disagree with that, because that implies that I'm forcing them to eat the food that I've prepared.

No-one's forcing people (I hope!) to play the game you prepped either, but in either case if nobody eats the food or plays the game then the prep time you spent is, in hindsight, largely rendered pointless.

At least with game prep you can stow it away and haul it out a month, a year, or however long later and use it then. Not always a good idea with food...

 

[Lanefan]

The point of cooking as an activity is not necessarily to eat the results.

If nobody eats the food you cooked then the whole exercise amounts to a waste of ingredients (which is one area where the cooking analogy fails; if nobody now plays the game you prepped you can always keep it and haul it out some other time).