Re: Does this animal exist?

From: desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)

Date: Sun, 10 Sep 1995 00:00:00 +0000

G Benage <gbenage@aol.com> writes:
> I suggested that, indeed, WWIV is not for everyone...not even every
> wargamer.  I *suspect* that most wargamers who give the game a close
> look will, at least, *not* base any decision *not* to play the game on
> the *combat system.*

I think you are probably right.  But _some_ will, which is all that is
important to me.  A reviewer's comments need not represent the majority
view.

> This discussion began with Bob's assertion that WWIV's combat system
> was "mysterious" AND THAT "in a wargame, combat is everything."

Both of which statements are completely true, if not deliberately
misunderstood.  Obviously the statement that "combat is everything" does
not mean that the game has no other elements, but it means that if the
combat system does not work for you, then the game will not work for
you.  Which is a statement with which I think 100% of the wargaming
community would agree.

> Further, Bob and I discussed the necessity of random elements in a
> wargame (disclosed or not).  As I've noted at length, a wargame like
> WWIV has to have random elements (though strategy games like You Rule!
> may not).

While I agree that most wargames benefit from random elements, there are
in fact wargames which do work just fine without random elements.
Wargames do not _have_ to contain such elements, if they have sufficient
hidden information.

> I have maintained that Bob's comments to the contrary indicate that a)
> he is unfamiliar with many important elements of both wargaming and
> WWIV (which he admits), and b) his comments on WWIV, in particular,
> could have profited from a familiarity with both.

Of course if Bob knew more about the game he could have said more about
the game.  Since he made quite clear in his comments the extent of his
knowledge of and experience with the game, and that his comments were
based on that experience, his comments are useful for exactly what they
are: an account of how a player with little knowledge of the game system
reacted to his initial experience with it.  They are very useful for
me, as a player with little knowledge of the game: I learn that going
into the game with little knowledge would likely be a frustrating and
unenjoyable experience, for the same reasons that Bob found it so.

That is exactly how Bob's remarks appear to be intended.  If you choose
to interpret them instead as some sort of general condemnation of the
whole game system as unfit for any purpose, then you are misinterpreting
them.  Bob, as the author, has said so, and I, as another reader, say
so.  You can hold to your interpretation if you like, but I suspect that
if you do so that you will continue to find Bob's future columns as
unenjoyable as I would find playing WWIV.

David desJardins
--
Copyright 1995 David desJardins.  Unlimited permission is granted to quote
from this posting for non-commercial use as long as attribution is given.

References

Re: Does this animal exist?
gbenage@aol.com (G Benage)
Sun, 10 Sep 1995 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Does this animal exist?
desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)
Fri, 08 Sep 1995 00:00:00 +0000