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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormonu" data-source="post: 5104651" data-attributes="member: 52734">For me, I use the term when I run across mechanics that lurch me out of the faux reality of the game or that don't act according to "common" or game-world sense.  I stress the word mechanics - rules that are just so out of place that they are "proud nails" thumbing their fingers at you and screaming "it's just a game!"For example, the magic item system of 3E & 4E do this for me; magic items that singularly cost more than entire kingdoms and need to be continuously upgraded/replaced (though the latter has been part of D&D since nearly the beginning).  And where did all these +1 swords come from anyway?  Coupled with the "wish lists" of 4E magic items, and it just disappoints me.  I can understand someone questing for an item - following rumors and seeking out information about a particular magic item.  But just finding it lying around because it makes your "build" better?  Nah, not for me.Likewise, healing surges and minions come dangerously close to videogamisms, but they are ones that I more readily agree with.  I can accept minions because we've all seen the "one-hit kill" and can accept them under that construct.  There's no basis in reality or myth to account for healing surges, but they work game-wise; they're a forgivable "sin".Leveling is perhaps the worst videogamism of all, especially when you figure into how it determines what sort of foes you'll face and how powerful your abilities will be - even abilities not related to what you've been recently doing.  How decapitating orcs makes you better at Knowledge of the Planes, I'll never know.  However, like healing surges, it works overall for the D&D game and its an easy overlooked "sin".Also, as I think others have mentioned, a videogame feel often arises when the game itself limits or heavily downplays certain activities or actions - like the example given above of letting players attempt to burn down the BBEG's wooden fort instead of forcing them to storm it.  It often shows itself though, more often in limiting actions in or out of combat; games where you can't craft your own items (such as 1E, before WSG & DSG <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ), can't sunder enemy weapons or equipment and other such artificial limitations.* Side story.  I actually had a friend DM who allowed his players to "save" their place in a game before going into a big fight or quest, so if they failed, they could "redo" it.  When I refused to do the same in my own game, he refused to play.  I don't miss gaming with him one bit.</blockquote>

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