thread: 2012-11-15 : Positioning: the Big Model vs Emily, reconciled
On 2012-11-16, TMC wrote:
When I talked about Color in my Marginalia, I was refering to detail in description. For instance, how many times has a GM gone on describing a tavern by saying stuff like "The countertop of the bar is made from oak." The fact that the countertop is oak never comes into play. He's just painting the scene for the players. Sure, someone could somehow make the oak important, but 999 times out of a thousand, it's just setting Color and quickly forgotten. It's not an indication of design quality, IMO, at all.
This makes R go "As soon as somebody's face forcefully hits the counter..."
it suddenly matters a lot whether it's made of oak or glass.
This makes TMC go "But how does oak matter vs. hickory vs. maple etc.?"
This makes cw go "It might or it might not matter..."
but if it is systemically prevented from mattering, rather than being left to the system, I'd call that a flaw.
This makes cw go "er..."
...left to the situation (not system)...
This makes JC go "What CW said."
Maybe your dude is a wood elf with hickory resonance and gets a +4 defense modifier vs. hickory.
This makes TMC go "And when it doesn't, is that b/c of bad design?"
This makes VB go "Hey TMC-"
Did you get my thing about having the opportunity to castle but not choosing to castle, or do I need to go further into that?
This makes TMC go "Vincent,"
Maybe. Is forgetting a detail a "move" as well?
This makes VB go "No, but..."
Ben was talking about details you can't build on, I think, not details you could build on but don't. I'd be very surprised if Ben thinks that an abundance of details is a sign of bad design.
This makes TMC go "Okay, I'm with you."
It sounded like Ben was saying that if a detail is not used in gameplay it's a sign of bad design. Some details aren't used b/c people forget them, don't mentally process them, or misunderstand them for whatever reason, which isn't an aspect of design IMHO.
This makes VB go "Cool!"
This makes BL go "Oh I get it"
It's not if a detail _isn't_ used. Most aren't. It's if it _can't_ be used that there's a problem.
This makes TMC go "Me too :)"
We're on the same page now, Ben :)
