thread: 2012-12-20 : Positioning: Retroactive
On 2012-12-20, Vincent wrote:
Ah, maybe this-
In Chess, if I move my bishop on the diagonal to capture your rook, and you make a displeased hiss and scowl at me, I know why. It's because I made a legit move that displeased you.
In a roleplaying game, if I say that my guy puts his pistol down on the table, and you make a displeased hiss and scowl at me, maybe I made a legit move that displeased you, and maybe I made an illegit move. At that moment, I can't know which. This is the difference.
Now, I should add, most of the time, you won't misguess your fictional position, so it won't bite you. The vast majority of the time, everything works out fine. I'm not concerned about the times when it goes bad, I'm pointing out that the possibility that it always might go bad means that something different is happening. I don't think it's shocking or anything, it's just that collaborative fiction doesn't behave like real physical objects.
This makes Threl go "OK, then"
I think this makes me understand what you're saying, so now I'll reserve my objections until later.
