A Living World

[Decamper]

love Decamper's work.

<3

This sounds the same as arguing wether Mini6, Call of Cthulhu or Gurps is the best system. They're all fine. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

 

[Crezth]

I really think you're missing a lot of context in Thor's posts, which makes you two really arguing over rather than with each other.

That is entirely possible. As similar as NES and IOT are, they do have observably different traditions and that includes the dialectic of NESing theory, so I was probably carrying some baggage from those days in my reply to Thor.

From Blackened Skies, I think everyone can see that, even if you like complex mechanics as a framework for world building and diplomacy, you hold that the former is behooved to the latter. The only reason that you care, at all, for the mechanical framework, is that it gives an output for the thing you actually care about; the world that you are actually building. And that's fine! I think that's actually great! It's not how I would approach the situation, but different strokes for different folks.

Yes, I think we both agree that what we are attempting to cultivate is the character of these games, for the exact reason that we are playing these games instead of RISK. I view the mechanics and the world as inextricable: both are necessary for a NES/IOT, but neither is sufficient, and I think I'd be so bold as to say that neglecting one of them entirely makes what results less of a NES/IOT as it veers more into being purely a game or purely a setting. And often, at least among us, a "system" (defined as a set of mechanics and a world setting that render a NES/IOT system) is designed by the mod in accordance with what he/she needs from the system. A CYOA, by virtue of having a clearly defined mechanic for progressing through the narrative, becomes a fine candidate of NES/IOT, and it makes a little more sense why we saw them appear at all.

 

[gay_Aleks]

If I may chip in, as far as CYOAs go, I believe the issue came from the fact there's no "signups" (well, actually, christos did host a CYOA which had a form of signups...but, let's conveniently ignore that.) or, for that matter, "nations" in it, which are the building block of most games. Not to mention that you didn't have to write orders beyond voting. All those were not-IOT, according to some people, and thus, they must be removed.

Ironically, I don't think that CYOAs stayed because of Crezth's argument, but rather that a majority of people participating in or hosting CYOAs are IOTers, which meant that CYOAs, like it or not, are a part of IOT.

 

[Double A]

CYOAs developed here because a community can have multiple interests. It's a pretty common thing, actually.

 

[Omega124]

Except waifus. There can be only one.

And she wins :3