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<blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 9231467" data-attributes="member: 5142">I don't think that any notion of reality or simulating realism is the goal of play for these games. I don't think that these games share your proclivities, aesthetics, or preferences regarding realism.How is it that something interesting is always happening in an episode of Star Trek? Or Game of Thrones? Or Breaking Bad? Or even The Office? That's not realisitic! Of course not. Television shows, for example, don't particularly care about &quot;reality&quot; per se. What they care about is character drama. Things always happen. Their lives are filled with dramatic moments and action. Lulls in their lives are often skipped over in favor of dramatic ones because we are interested in seeing how the characters react to complications or situations. Do these shows feel less real? Maybe, but that's not why we are watching them. And yet these worlds do feel real enough for many people watching.Likewise the goal of play in many of the games being discussed is character drama (and often emulation). For example, games like Blades in the Dark are not about simulating any realism of being a criminal. Instead, it's interested in emulating the feeling of being a criminal in a gang and how play generates character drama around that. When we pick up the dice, that means something there is uncertainty. There are often stakes involved. There are interesting consequences involved.That point where &quot;somewhere real&quot; lies is not a science and it varies from person to person. Moreover, it's not as high of a priority for other people and roleplaying games.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Aldarc, post: 9231467, member: 5142"] I don't think that any notion of reality or simulating realism is the goal of play for these games. I don't think that these games share your proclivities, aesthetics, or preferences regarding realism. How is it that something interesting is always happening in an episode of Star Trek? Or Game of Thrones? Or Breaking Bad? Or even The Office? That's not realisitic! Of course not. Television shows, for example, don't particularly care about "reality" per se. What they care about is character drama. Things always happen. Their lives are filled with dramatic moments and action. Lulls in their lives are often skipped over in favor of dramatic ones because we are interested in seeing how the characters react to complications or situations. Do these shows feel less real? Maybe, but that's not why we are watching them. And yet these worlds do feel real enough for many people watching. Likewise the goal of play in many of the games being discussed is character drama (and often emulation). For example, games like Blades in the Dark are not about simulating any realism of being a criminal. Instead, it's interested in emulating the feeling of being a criminal in a gang and how play generates character drama around that. When we pick up the dice, that means something there is uncertainty. There are often stakes involved. There are interesting consequences involved. That point where "somewhere real" lies is not a science and it varies from person to person. Moreover, it's not as high of a priority for other people and roleplaying games. [/QUOTE]

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