Gaming philosophy conundra

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

For another example, consider how botanists’ co-optation of “fruit” and “nut” to be technical terms have resulted in fatuous arguments over whether cucumbers are fruit and walnuts are nuts.

Yes, though I've mostly heard about tomatoes as an example of fruit.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Which is the true character: the one written down on the sheet or the one that exists in the mind of the player?

Take your pick:
A) Neither, it's the one that exists in the backstory.
B) The one on the character sheet. This is why the player should be deducted character points when their characterization doesn't match their disadvantages.
C) The one that exists in the minds of all the players and the GM. The character sheet is just a description of the character to give the players and the GM a starting point.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Icelander

And the true character is the one the audience experiences.

I'd have to agree with this, while pointing out that there's thus not a single "true character", as every player's perceptions of that character are different. That includes the perception in the mind of the character's player -- certainly an important one, as it's the one from which all the other player's perceptions are derived. But that's an indirect and errorful process, not a simple copy of an idea (as I'm all too aware from my own limitations in managing to portray characters in play).

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Michael Cule

If 3d6 fall in the forest with no one to add them up, how do you know if you've criticalled?

If, contrary to Einstein, God does play dice what sort does He/She/It use?

How to apply John Rawl's Veil of Ignorance to the design of a gaming world? (Easier with random character generation, I think. People who design characters are always going to want to create loopholes.)

He's the GM. Only PCs play dice.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Hoards are socially constructed.

Money is socially constructed and hoards are made of money. But then social constructs are a social construct.

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Money is socially constructed and hoards are made of money. But then social constructs are a social construct.

True, but let’s not succumb to the Fallacy of Composition.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

He's the GM. Only PCs play dice.

In the prototypical RPGs, the GM rolled dice to find out if a dungeon room or a wilderness hex was inhabited, what kind of inhabitants it had, how many there were, if they had treasure, how much, what kind, and if there were traps, among other things.

A world created in this way tends to have a certain lack of coherence, as the dice rolls in successive spaces are not correlated with each other.

My experience in creating alien races, for example, using the rules in GURPS Space has tended to be that they also have a certain lack of coherence.

Does physical reality have enough coherence to support the conclusion that God is not rolling dice to create its occupants? Or is God an old school GM?

[Michael Cule]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

He's the GM. Only PCs play dice.

So the world is Powered by The Apocalypse?

Worse, the world is Player Centered!

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by Michael Cule

So the world is Powered by The Apocalypse?

Worse, the world is Player Centered!

Watch out - some of the dodgier fringes of the men's rights / incel / PUA group of communities talk about men who don't agree with them as NPCs.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

Watch out - some of the dodgier fringes of the men's rights / incel / PUA group of communities talk about men who don't agree with them as NPCs.

I suspect that thinking of the outgroup as not really being people may go back to the Paleolithic, even if the word for "not really people" changes.