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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8301519" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Okay. Perhaps " analysis" was a poor word.You can evaluate things about game rules. That's what I mean by "objectivity" there; the rules objectively tell you what can and can't happen. And, for a situation, you can determine what a character would do, based on their behavioral patterns and logical extrapolation--I've had plenty of people I know straight-up tell me that they can "hear" the character speak to them, or otherwise intuitively "know" what a character would and wouldn't do given an established situation.A story that you're currently writing can go anywhere you want. Literally. There are no rules, not even the suggestion of rules, because that would be formulaic writing, and truly formulaic writing is almost always bad. Even logical extrapolation isn't useful, because taking that level of authorial control means changing the very inputs to that logical extrapolation; you cannot simultaneously control the logic and have the logic limit or guide your behavior. I don't see how there can be a "best direction" in the way that there can be an optimal mechanical action or a logical roleplay action, for exactly the same reason that there can't be a "best direction" for a meal or a composition or a dance. There will always be numerous equally-valid ways to reach exactly the same end, and even more numerous ends of varying similarity.And if you can't just go anywhere you want...you're being restricted by some kind of rules. What are these rules, that exclusively constrain the story, but have absolutely no impact on what mechanical actions you can take, nor on what roleplay actions you can take? I would welcome seeing such a thing, as it would be highly revelatory.Yes. But those are stories that already exist. Evaluating a text that has already been put out. How do you evaluate a text that doesn't exist, because you're currently making it? You can't even avail yourself of the death of the author, because you are the author currently living the text.</blockquote>

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