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I think of creative work, and most human endeavors, as frames within frames. The inconsistency of something like D&D is easily avoided by stepping out of the f

I think of creative work, and most human endeavors, as frames within frames. The inconsistency of something like D&D is easily avoided by stepping out of the frame, and thinking of it as a sui generis creation of Gygax, or stepping further in and thinking of it as a game mechanic that leads to an experience of fun. But the geek habit is to stay inside the frame and obsess over how the premise should have been more explicit, the details more accurate, the rules more consistent. How does the tricorder work? What’s inside a Dalek?? Can you really clone a dinosaur using a chicken egg??? Let’s write a wiki page about our theories and then argue about it!

dfxm12 2y ago
I think in the context of a role playing game like D&D, you do want to stay within the frame because a unique & defining part of an RPG is the role playing. This is different from content you purely consume, like a TV series.
- shermantanktop 2y ago
  I'm not an RPG person - but when I've done it, every player is in fact both acting their character's role AND acting as player in the game. The elven mage character does not know that a DM exists, or that dice are being rolled; but the player does, and complains when the DM applies a rule inconsistently.
swayvil 2y ago
That's how concentrating your attention goes. You pick a thing within your field of attention, center your attention upon it and narrow your attention until the thing fills your entire field of attention. Which gives you a new field of attention. Then you repeat the process. And so on. A kind of infinite shrinking of perspective. This is what artists, scientists and engineers do. It's a bit insane. It's the cornerstone of our civilization.
creer 2y ago
> sui generis creation of Gygax Isn't it the opposite? Gygax lived in a world of sword and sorcery books, short stories and pulp comics. If you want his model of "medieval world", it's more like that: you have independent characters galore, few concerns about overall world economics or power structure (aside from the immediate interference with the heros).

dfxm12 2y ago

I think in the context of a role playing game like D&D, you do want to stay within the frame because a unique & defining part of an RPG is the role playing. This is different from content you purely consume, like a TV series.

shermantanktop 2y ago
I'm not an RPG person - but when I've done it, every player is in fact both acting their character's role AND acting as player in the game. The elven mage character does not know that a DM exists, or that dice are being rolled; but the player does, and complains when the DM applies a rule inconsistently.

swayvil 2y ago

That's how concentrating your attention goes. You pick a thing within your field of attention, center your attention upon it and narrow your attention until the thing fills your entire field of attention. Which gives you a new field of attention. Then you repeat the process. And so on. A kind of infinite shrinking of perspective. This is what artists, scientists and engineers do. It's a bit insane. It's the cornerstone of our civilization.

creer 2y ago

> sui generis creation of Gygax Isn't it the opposite? Gygax lived in a world of sword and sorcery books, short stories and pulp comics. If you want his model of "medieval world", it's more like that: you have independent characters galore, few concerns about overall world economics or power structure (aside from the immediate interference with the heros).