Spaceships and Simulations

Rules are the language of simulation. Simulation is a computer program, a series of if…then statements that build something. The point is that they exist. Abiding by them creates a simulation. Not abiding by them creates something else.

What that might be is beyond the scope of this article, but it is not evidently good or bad. This, then, is the persistent argument about “fudging” in role play. It is incoherent. It is good, because it improves the experience of play, but it is not something that makes sense in context.

Where people may get tripped up is that a rule can be “decide yourself.” Simulation does not require dice or math. But the construction is different based on what is or is not within that set of a rubric.

The rules of the game produce the simulation. If the intent then of the simulation does not match the results, then the rule is broken and needs to be fixed.