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Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 13:28:50 -0700
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Subject: Re: FUDGE as an IF system
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Joe Mason wrote:
>
> Well I just glanced at the FUDGE rules, and I have to say I don't think they'd
> make a very good back-end for an IF RPG.
>
> The reason is that they're intended to be free-form.  The intro says that
> they're intended for a GM who doesn't mind making a lot of snap decisions.
> In fact, that's where the name comes from - the fudge factor.  The thing is,
> computers just aren't good at that.  What we want for an IF game system would
> be one where everything is modelled so that the program doesn't have to "make
> choices".

This is exactly my thought, buyt it concerns all of this IF RPG stuff.
I
don't think we can ever really make an IF that plays much at all like a
real table-top RPG:

1. There's no interaction with other people.  RPing is all about this.
2. The plot must, be definition, by premade or be nonexistant with a
computer
   (theoretically,  I suppose, randomness and creation algorithms could
be
   used, but they wouldn't be very good) whereas real RPGs are very
flexible.
3. The situations that come up in T.T. RPGs are very complex, and just
too
  difficult for a computer to arbitrate, as Joe points out.

If we can't do any of these things, that are fundamental to RPGs, we
shouldn't
pretend that we're modelling table-top games at all (i.e. by using a
pre-made
RPG system like FUDGE).  If we want and RPG style game (more like
CRPG/Nethack
that is) I don't see any problem with that, but a real RPG rule system
is too
complicated for a computer to do well by.
