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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ExploderWizard" data-source="post: 6747698" data-attributes="member: 66434">I think most sane persons would think you have this backwards. Players are the real live people you gather together with to play games and have fun. They are the only ones that really matter. A character is a fictional construct used in the playing of a game. As such it cannot have fun, feel satisfaction for accomplishing anything, or really do any thing without the player really. The player however, can do all of these things and much more without a character. Playing the game the way that you describe results in the one thing that renders play meaningless - the people actually playing don't matter. Who cares if Bob doesn't show up. We have trained a monkey to roll dice and are good to go. A game is entertainment for people so people need to matter. A character won't feel marginalized if its contributions are meaningless because it it just some notes and numbers on a sheet of paper. A person can feel that. In order to remain interesting, a game needs to mentally engage the player. The players are the ones who come up with ideas to solve problems, and make decisions. A character cannot do that. The game became popular because of the limitless application of human creativity and imagination. How does this relate to puzzles and traps? Puzzles and traps, like everything else, are challenges faced by the players in the game through the medium of their characters. Such challenges are meaningless to a character due to its inability to think. This is why puzzles and traps that are resolved by a die roll or two are so unsatisfying to to a player. The player has no input into the solution it is simply a binary pass/fail obstacle with odds determined by the skills of the character. The character, alas, cannot feel excited to have solved anything so the whole process becomes a rather hum drum affair with the player mentally checking out while going through the rote die roll motions to solve the challenge. Every challenge becomes the exact same. Play which is suppose to engage creativity and imagination is instead turned into a routine script or subroutine:> Examine obstacle>Determine identity of avatar with highest relevant solving skill>Modify highest relevant skill via aid, guidance, etc. >Employ modified skill to situation. > Solve obstacle. Pass/Fail? > If Pass run <High Five> protocol> If Fail then check for repeat <Yes/No>>If No<End Sub>>If Yes repeat program.>Replace line 2 with <Determine identity of avatar with next highest relevant solving skill>>End sub Whew! Pretty exciting stuff. Just thinking about that makes me want to start playing Candy Crush or even watch a lolcat video rather than pay attention to whats happening. Here we have character skill determining everything. The player meanwhile, can just run the program and find something else to occupy the craving for mental stimulation. Not exactly what I would call an engaging experience for the player.</blockquote>

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