The Beast Below announces new rules

I read the RTD Writers Tale book and there's a bit in there (and here, and here, and probably somewhere else if fuller/better version but I've spent 10 minutes looking for the ref) about how he threw out the rules of classic storytelling, and he thinks it's better because "I've made a Doctor Who that exists in the present tense. It's happening now, right in front of your eyes!" He doesn't seed the solution, he doesn't give it away before it's right there on you and happening. But to do that he threw out the whole 'clues' concept. RTDs stories don't tell you what's going to happen, you can't figure them out logically, because something whizzy shiny or bzuh is going to happen out of nowhere to fix or end it all. (I overgeneralise, I know).

And that's interesting because it ties into this semester's ideology of detective fiction stuff - sherlock holmes and clue puzzles vs Marlowe and the hard boiled detective. RTD is saying right there he doesn't value the clue puzzles at all. But the idea behind clue puzzles is that if you apply brain to universe you get solution, that you can figure things out and make them work and control the threats of experience through rationality. Throwing that out leaves you with luck and endurance, basically.

The Beast Below had a few anvil moments, Look At This We Think It's Important, but the anvil was that you need to look. It does give you the clues, it does build on what you've seen to get a solution, and you can figure it out.

It's an announcement of the new rules.

At least I very much hope it is. Because that whole thing where you apply brain to universe? Kind of important.

Computer games!

I been playing Tradewinds Caravans the last two days. One day per character.
I've been doing the purist roleplaying version where I only have one savegame. It... has noteable disadvantages.

And then for one character you reach a certain point, ( Read more... )

Tradewinds is fun cause you buy things and have fights and have quests with character development, but I like Odyssey best because you also invent things. Inventing things is win. It gets annoying though because if you win your quests all the stuff gets invented without you. Boo. I want to do it!

It's less fun because it's a straight line only, no way to avoid stuff without it just telling you you haven't won yet, no way to do things differently, just accept a quest and fight the fights and do the deals like it says. You can't decide you have a moral objection to stealing horses while trying to get to a peace treaty place in your main quest, for instance. Is a bit less fun. I want RPGs, proper ones with humans who can adapt, or with much smarter computers that nearly almost adapt too.

So I've now played through at least one character on every Tradewinds games, and discovered buggy bits that won't let me keep playing on two of them, and I feel kind of Done on those.


In the supermarket was Civilization IV. I haven't played any other Civlization game. And my computer only just has what it says on the back of the game. (The other game I bought at the supermarket will require a new computer brain. And it's copyright 2007. I really haven't updated for quite some time here.) But it looks like you build things and use them to fight with. Win.


... I only restarted playing computer games like this year. They seem to be filling a lot of hours that were previously spent staring at the ceiling having an attack of what's-it-all-about-really-when-you-get-right-down-to-it. Unfortunately they also fill hours that could usefully be spent eating, sleeping, or doing other biological maintenance functions. Or, wild thought though it is, studying. :eyeroll: