07-24-2006, 07:00 PM
Hi,
As to 'reality' and 'realism', I've been bitten by these discussions before. I agree with most of what you said in your earlier post. Incorporating magic into a fantasy world should not be done haphazardly just to solve some design (or plot) problems. The fact that so many authors and game designers do that is why I've long since stopped reading fantasy. Larry Niven wrote a good article on the subject, but unfortunately the book containing it is in storage. Basically, his argument is that an author should lay out the limitations and boundaries of magic use before writing the story. These rules for the magic should be balanced and, most importantly, self consistent (which is what 'realistic' usually means in this context). By having the rules, and by letting the player/reader know what they are (and, no, I don't mean a list somewhere), the author/designer builds a world where the suspension of disbelief only has to occur only once instead of each time the author uses an ad hoc magical effect to get his characters out of trouble.
Another thing game designers need to get away from is the dice/tables/roll limitations of pnp/table-top games. In pnp gaming, too many factors leads to too many dice rolls leads to a slow, boring, game. But with the computer doing the 'rolling' and keeping track of the factors, many possibilities are opened. Such as damage spread between the armor and the avatar. Such as attack/defense speed governed by the intensity and length of the fight.
But, yeah, gamers want fun games, not SCA simulators:) We do want them in the latest technology done right. But mostly we want something that is immersive, innovative, interesting. And that does not seem to be too common today.
--Pete
Quote:. . . I might just pre-order this hypothetical game.And I want the second copy:) Good ideas, all. It seems that game development goes in cycles driven by technology development. When a substantially better technology starts to become widely available (sound about ten to fifteen years ago, graphics over the last six or seven years) the game developers seem to spend more effort on incorporating the technology than in making a good (and especially innovative) game. The attitude seems to be "let's redo Rogue in 3D and 7.1". Then, when the technology slows down a little, the developers are forced to go back to focusing on the actual game. I'm hoping that the focus on the game part of the cycle comes back soon.
As to 'reality' and 'realism', I've been bitten by these discussions before. I agree with most of what you said in your earlier post. Incorporating magic into a fantasy world should not be done haphazardly just to solve some design (or plot) problems. The fact that so many authors and game designers do that is why I've long since stopped reading fantasy. Larry Niven wrote a good article on the subject, but unfortunately the book containing it is in storage. Basically, his argument is that an author should lay out the limitations and boundaries of magic use before writing the story. These rules for the magic should be balanced and, most importantly, self consistent (which is what 'realistic' usually means in this context). By having the rules, and by letting the player/reader know what they are (and, no, I don't mean a list somewhere), the author/designer builds a world where the suspension of disbelief only has to occur only once instead of each time the author uses an ad hoc magical effect to get his characters out of trouble.
Another thing game designers need to get away from is the dice/tables/roll limitations of pnp/table-top games. In pnp gaming, too many factors leads to too many dice rolls leads to a slow, boring, game. But with the computer doing the 'rolling' and keeping track of the factors, many possibilities are opened. Such as damage spread between the armor and the avatar. Such as attack/defense speed governed by the intensity and length of the fight.
But, yeah, gamers want fun games, not SCA simulators:) We do want them in the latest technology done right. But mostly we want something that is immersive, innovative, interesting. And that does not seem to be too common today.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?