I think that by realistic, it makes sense. When I say realistic, I wouldn''t be talking about Magic not actually existing in the real world. I''m talking about that spell you use that lites a candle not having gigantic special effects. I''d say it''s unrealistic when you have swirling whirlpools of visible energy fill the room just to lite the candle.

to sum it up,''Realistic'' to me is just making sense. (eg Magic is realistic when done right)

Well what kind of magic is that? If you can''t light a candle without a swirling vortex of energy, a disco ball lightshow, and a lens flare, then you might as well use a cigarette lighter.

How about the fact that you are lighting the candle is causing magic, not magic causing the lighting of the candle. Has anybody seen magic? I haven''t seen any vortexes, so is magic then invisible, or is it just ''hidden'' from the eye?

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers'' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
          

Realistic is for logic and believable IMO.

All we want is a world with some consitency, in which things follow some rules.
It''s not a problem to know or not to know them, as far as they exists we''ll be able to find out which they are.

Example : Why the hell a people that have infinite money, great skills and the best Artefact in the world stay in his blacksmith while the church is being invaded by nightmare creature ?

Why while in town do I suddenly lost the capacility of having a weapon in hand and to cast dangerous spells ?

Why should I save the village while I''m evil ?


This is the kind of things I hate, and I don''t want to see.
When I say realistic it''s just a consistent world with logic and believable rules.



-* So many things to do, so little time to spend. *-

I don´t want realistic, I want believable.

(It´s been said, but i´ll say it again: It´s not about making the player believe what you tell/show him, but to enable him to "suspend disbelief").

So it´s nothing to do with reality. The universe (all the rules, physics, technology....) has to be "right" within itself, there should be no inconsistencies, no loopholes, no open questions. If that´s alright then you can sell whatever you want, just as long as there are no situations where the player will think "Hey, if they are so powerful why don´t they...." , or "If they have the technology to build starships a mile wide why do they have to use a wrench to fix a fighter...., and why for gods sake can´t they design bridge consoles that won´t explode when the ship is hit!"

There have to be only very little similarities to actual reality to make a game believable. It´s ok if there are beings created of pure energy or magic, as long as there are no unanswered questions or holes that the player will stumble upon..

quote: Original post by Hase

"If they have the technology to build starships a mile wide why do they have to use a wrench to fix a fighter....

What are you saying?? That''s a horrible example. We use wrenches it fix aircraft carriers! Who cares if it big? Why wouldn''t you use the tools you''ve always used to fix it?

"What do we do now?"
"...We die."
-FenrisD

quote: Original post by FenrisD

Original post by Hase

"If they have the technology to build starships a mile wide why do they have to use a wrench to fix a fighter….

What are you saying?? That''s a horrible example. We use wrenches it fix aircraft carriers! Who cares if it big? Why wouldn''t you use the tools you''ve always used to fix it?

"What do we do now?"
"…We die."
-FenrisD


OK, bad example, but don´t you sometimes think that they do stuff that they shouldn´t be doing? Some examples from Star Trek: the ship gets taken over by aliens so many times, why are there no securit cameras, better anti intrusion system, sentry guns, ….? Why do they always go on away missions in their stupid pyjamas? They have the technology to create light, fashionable protective clothing that will not only save you from the occasional phaser blast but also keep nasty viruses and toxins out (that never seem to register on any scanner). Gas masks for crying out loud! And then (i already mentioned it) the exploding consoles. Why does the bridge keep exploding all the time?

Those were only star trek examples, but i´m sure you get what i mean…
This happens a lot (in sci-fi stuff). And for the fantasy department, i think things are not that different.

One more thing about believability - look at the evil overlord list - then you´ll at least know which clichés to avoid
www.eviloverlord.com

A bit off topic, maybe not, but I gotta defend it!

quote: Original post by Hase

Some examples from Star Trek: the ship gets taken over by aliens so many times, why are there no securit cameras, better anti intrusion system, sentry guns, ....?

Um, they have shipwide sensors and containment fields. They could have sentry guns ala Aliens, but that would be barbaric to the enlightened Federation mindset. The goal is not to kill. Now the Cardassins... that''s another story... Cardies have forcefields that cause DEATH upon contact.

quote:
Why do they always go on away missions in their stupid pyjamas?
They have the technology to create light, fashionable protective clothing that will not only save you from the occasional phaser blast but also keep nasty viruses and toxins out (that never seem to register on any scanner). Gas masks for crying out loud!

Weeeell, they do have spacesuits, like the ones that occassionally get used when the budget is big enough (like in saucer EVA scene in First Contact). Most of the places they go are (conveniently ) nearly class M planets, which makes the suits unnecessary. And, there''s the handy transporter biofilter, that remembers what germs you are and are not supposed to have.

And what good is fashionable protective clothing when a phaser can DEMATERIALIZE you and your dandy armor on contact? (The Borg use forcefields, though... )

quote:
And then (i already mentioned it) the exploding consoles. Why does the bridge keep exploding all the time?

EPS grid overloads. You get variable fluctuations in subspace energy distribution, and despite surge supression and other countermeasures energy "warps" into places it shouldn''t be able to get to. Happens all over the ship, actually, and ranges from the minor (shorted or exploding consoles) to the major (fires, exploding bulkheads).

(Of course, the real answer to all of the above is "limited budget" and "scientifically illiterate writers." )

quote:
One more thing about believability - look at the evil overlord list - then you´ll at least know which clichés to avoid
www.eviloverlord.com

The main problem with believability is that of unwanted realism. It messes with our mythos of heros and villains. They''re supposed to be better and worse than us, but also more simple to understand, which is why you get the goodguy pulling the badguy up from the precipice. In movies of the last 20 or so years, sometimes the goodguy lets the badguy fall, but this seems to makes the hero more of a villain himself.

--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...

Damn, that is soooo true.. And why do all the races look humanoid?

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers'' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
          

A lot of things in movies/tv shows are done purely for artistic effect, realism be damned. Like the exploding consoles for instance - which looks much more dramatic: Bridge consoles exploding and crew members flying all over the place, or artificial camera shake and a few crew members staggering around for a few seconds?