thread: 2005-04-25 : Technical Agenda
On 2005-04-27, Victor Gijsbers wrote:
Thanks for the additional example, Vincent. Yes, I can see how Technical Simulationism wouldn't work for DitV. But let's put a little more pressure on the idea.
Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd edition - as far as its core business, fighting, is concerned, this seems to me an example of Technical Simulationism. Let's say it's used to do Dungeon Crawls, where the players try to overcome a pre-made scenario by making brilliant tactical decisions. Could very well be socially functional, and in a way which is reinforced by the game. (It could even have a chapter about it in the game book, even though it doesn't.)
The difference between D&D and DitV is that here not only the meaning of the character's traits on the level of play is decided by the system, but also their meaning in the SIS. There is an exact one-on-one correspondence between the facts I can write on my character sheet and their effectiveness; not like in Dogs, where I can choose how many die I assign to a trait.
Thesis (to be mercilessly attacked): Technical Simulationism need not lead to problems on the social level if the system provides for a strong link between the meaning of attributes on the level of the SIS and on the level of play.
