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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Delta" data-source="post: 4290409" data-attributes="member: 40269">To me, "video-gamey" implies something that's in the opposite direction from "literary". Here's three examples:(1) Hit points that fluctuate up and down quickly without long-term ramifications. Literary characters frequently have to spend a long time convalescing if they receive a significant wound. Early AD&D had very low natural healing rates, week-long rests after 0 hit points, bad after-effects from raises, etc. As healing proliferates -- more magic and healing surges, full healing in 1 night in 4E -- that's more like a videogame.(2) Flashy abilities used more frequently. In literature, it's rare for a "special ability" to be used more than one, two, or three times in a single story. Videogames often have flashy effects used routinely, over and over again, as part of the regular action. As D&D evolves to have more spell slots, more magic items, and now at-will special abilities for all in 4E, that's more like a videogame.(3) Emphasis on visuals instead of descriptions. Early editions of D&D more generally were played without miniatures and had extremely short, sketchy suggestions for miniature usage -- the primary action was in-character and descriptive, like literature. As the game evolves to more clearly require a map and miniatures, more rules for play with minis, and more reliance on the spectacle of miniatures as part of the business, that visual reliance feels more videogamey.</blockquote>

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