Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 4685818" data-attributes="member: 710">I think the biggest problem with "simulationismn" is that I have to resolve it mechanically. I have to go through every step of the simulation, determine bonus and DC, roll dice, tick of whatever resource it needs. It's (in its extreme) like having every subconsciously made move being moved to concious activity.The number-crunching for example required to determine at my current attack bonus after several buffs and debuffs cast on my character means a lot of handling the details - what type of bonus is this, does it stack, what's my new modifier. It is logical, but it reminds me: "You are playing a game." But also every adventuring day, there is a time where it comes to cast the big buffs. The fact that every spellcaster is announcing his prepared buffs or asks which buffs to prepare reminds me I am operating on a very mechanical, level. It reminds me that I am in a very mechanical environment, playing a game, because I do not feel immersed if I think so consciously about the precise number of spell slots and buff types I could do. I mean, if the D&D world was "real", that might be what it is, but it also reminds me it is a world I can't relate to, a world where people basically know all the detailed numbers on how they affect the world. In my real life, I don't even know my IQ, and I certainly couldn't tell me whether it would help if coffee followed by pepsi would help me stay awake or not and what other side effects it might have. I wouldn't know if it the effects lasts 10 minutes or one hour (so should I drink it now for breakfast or when I arrived at work?)Another, grossly exaggerated example: "Oh, my eye itches. I raise my forearm and lower my head until my index finger is a the height of my eye. Now I carefully adjust my arm so that my index finger touches the edge of my eye. Now I move my index finger backwards and forwards until the itch stops..."That's not how I "really" works for me. It itches, I scratch myself, I don't think about the individual things that happen. I am not aware of how I am doing it exactly, I just know I am doing it. I can figure out if it worked, but not how, unless I stop myself and go through my actions step by step.But this is actually not the "Gamist" vs "Simulation" part, in my opinion.I think the difference might be better described as something like "imperative or procedural" vs "declarative". That would be the terms one might use for programming languages. One explains the step-by-step process, and the other just describes the outcome. The "how" is implemented hidden from the developer.</blockquote>

Verification