Shallow System Excuses

The RPG scene has suffered for too long under its assumption that every positive feature in a system (realism, choices, fancy-looking hats) must imply more work to understand the system, and more time to resolve every action.

1   (easy but nonsensical)                (realistic but Maths)
2   <=========================================================>
3   [Mąrk Bórg] [World of Darkness]    [Fate]   [D&D]   [GURPS]                                            [World of Darkness Combat]

People imply the idea more than they state it, but when stated, it becomes quite clear that this is a social truth, rather than...true. It serves two functions:

  1. Since each point on the scale is both good and bad, all systems are a matter of preference; nobody is 'right' about system mechanics.
  2. Anyone who wants to examine and critique systems is naïve, like a child who thinks their favourite music is actually correct music.

Well I won't argue the opposite - a lot of system-chat is bad because

  1. it's vague,
  2. suggests no alternative, and
  3. most people find it very dull.

However, I will prove Mathematically that the cute spectrum above is wrong. Like any fake internet-Mathematician, I am going to start by imagining that the chart is correct. And if it's correct, then each system has been optimized for some set of values, and every time we improve realism, we must make the system more of a headache to use. And every time the rules reduces the number of steps you have to take for an action, it becomes less realistic.

So people presuppose RPG systems to be 'Pareto Optimal'. If true, this would mean we could never make a game less efficient. We could not add 3 pointless steps to picking a pocket or shooting a laser-gun.

And clearly, this is bunkum.

QED.

This whole thing sounds like Leibniz idea that we are living in the best possible world, and that if houses didn't burn down then nobody would have the opportunity to show courage and perseverance. We are not living in the best of all possible RPG worlds, and the notion that everything is optimized for at least someone means we should stop trying to optimize. And the current scene lies very far from anything we could call 'optimal'.