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Why do RPGs have rules?
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<blockquote data-quote="loverdrive" data-source="post: 9027420" data-attributes="member: 7027139"><p>Aside II: on things <em>not </em>mattering</p><p></p><p>I play Team Fortress 2. For those who don't know, it's a hat simulator. There are tons and tons of cosmetic options that can be mixed and matched together. They don't matter. They do not influence the gameplay in any way, shape or form.</p><p></p><p>And precisely that <em>allows</em> them to matter. To work as a tool of expression. If they had stats (like they used to, which is, thankfully, a thing of the past), the choice of an outfit would be a simple optimization problem.</p><p></p><p>They don't, so you are free to dress in a way that you think looks cool.</p><p></p><p>The same applies to fiction in RPGs, and maintaining verisimilitude <span style="font-size: 10px">(who the hell came up with this word, it feels like playing twister on a keyboard?)</span> often stands in the way of expression. Yeah, it makes sense that shooting someone with a gun should be more effective than throwing a plate at them, sure.</p><p></p><p>The problem is that you very quickly end up with a whole stable of characters that shoot guns. And check corners. And throw flashbangs into a room before barging in.</p><p></p><p>Because there's a very limited pool of actually effective and good options.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="loverdrive, post: 9027420, member: 7027139"] Aside II: on things [I]not [/I]mattering I play Team Fortress 2. For those who don't know, it's a hat simulator. There are tons and tons of cosmetic options that can be mixed and matched together. They don't matter. They do not influence the gameplay in any way, shape or form. And precisely that [I]allows[/I] them to matter. To work as a tool of expression. If they had stats (like they used to, which is, thankfully, a thing of the past), the choice of an outfit would be a simple optimization problem. They don't, so you are free to dress in a way that you think looks cool. The same applies to fiction in RPGs, and maintaining verisimilitude [SIZE=2](who the hell came up with this word, it feels like playing twister on a keyboard?)[/SIZE] often stands in the way of expression. Yeah, it makes sense that shooting someone with a gun should be more effective than throwing a plate at them, sure. The problem is that you very quickly end up with a whole stable of characters that shoot guns. And check corners. And throw flashbangs into a room before barging in. Because there's a very limited pool of actually effective and good options. [/QUOTE]
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