Why I love gamers

[Particle_Man]

I have a fantasy group attacked by sharks. I have the sharks fly (for no particular reason), and come at them out of the sun. There are 22 of them.

Player: "Sharks don't come in schools that big!"

Never mind the "flying out of the sun" part.

 

[LonePaladin]

Yeah, it's amazing what details gamers will fixate on, and which ones they'll ignore completely. I've been in this gig for over 20 years now, and I still do that once in a while.

 

[Wik]

I saw a sitcom recently where they made fun of just this.

Some comic nerds started talking about the physics of a scene from superman where Lois lane was falling, and Superman picks her out of the sky without slowing her down at all.

One of them says "That's so unrealistic"

The person who likes that scene (the non-nerd) says "Yeah, I know, people can't fly" at which point a character steps forward and says "well, let's assume for a minute that he can fly, and that's okay" and then goes on to explain how the physics of Superman catching Lois Lane say she should actually be torn in half.

Yeah, it's a weird nerd thing, I think.

 

[IamTheTest]

I get made fun of a lot for this and I think that its sad. I like to believe that fantasy has a set of rules that are defined within whatever story you choose (for instance in Superman the rules say that Clark Kent can fly). If weird things happen that are covered in these premises, fine. This, however, does not excuse sloppy continuity. It is a fallacy to say that because Superman can fly and that is unrealistic then everything in/about Superman is allowed to be unrealistic. As long as the genre doesnt break its own defined rules then Im a-okay with it. I will be happy to elaborate if that my message is garbled.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Is that what they are teaching at Dayton these days? Its shame that the education has gotten so poor since I left.

 

[Aeolius]

Player: "Sharks don't come in schools that big!"

 

[Aeolius]

Never mind the "flying out of the sun" part.

Got Fiend Folio handy?

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I get made fun of a lot for this and I think that its sad. I like to believe that fantasy has a set of rules that are defined within whatever story you choose (for instance in Superman the rules say that Clark Kent can fly). If weird things happen that are covered in these premises, fine. This, however, does not excuse sloppy continuity. It is a fallacy to say that because Superman can fly and that is unrealistic then everything in/about Superman is allowed to be unrealistic. As long as the genre doesnt break its own defined rules then Im a-okay with it. I will be happy to elaborate if that my message is garbled.

I agree entirely. The fact that a fantasy, sci fi or superhero story may add something outside of the standard reality, does not, imo automaticly make everything up for grabs and any illogic acceptable. The best departure from reality in fiction are modular.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

A fair point. I would note however that one should be prepared to accept a wider suspension of disbelief within the context of a fantasy game. The more consistent the game world is with its deviations from observed reality the better.

 

[Mark]

Sharks can fly out of the sun as long as they keep moving, otherwise they die.