Appreciation:”the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value”, “clear perception or recognition, especially of aesthetic quality”, In order to appreciate rule-breaking, you must first know the rules. That’s why a cultured person might have fun contemplating an abstract work and sharing the in-joke with the artist (I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE) while Average Joe will only see a doodle and will ask for figurative Art, perhaps of the sort that involves naked women and ceramic jars.
The charm of a role-playing game allows you to do what you couldn’t do otherwise. The impossible. The more knowledgeable you are about why something is impossible, the more you can appreciate the escapism of playing a simulation of doing.
This is why a rollerblader would enjoy Jet Set Radio Future, a skater would have great fun with Tony Hawk, a climber or parkourer will enjoy Assasin’s Creed or Mirror’s Edge more than average-sedentary-joe: they know that if they tried that in Real Life, they’d break their own fingers… at the very least. It’s why an actual soldier will enjoy the less realistic shooters, a racing pilot will have crazy fun with Burnout, and architect would get their mind blown by Bioshock, many types of Engineer will be greatly entertained by Steamboy.…
And a rationalist, especially a scientist one, will be greatly entertained by a game about Mad Science, where you build all those technological Wonders you dreamed of as a child without all the frustrating constraints you have been discovering as you pursued your dreams as an adult. “No, you can’t build that complicated yet beautiful contraption. Well, actually you can, but here’s a thing that does the same function, is lots cheaper, and much more reliable. It’s made in China.” or “No, you can’t build a general AI yet, and no, it won’t arise from “complexity” or “No, your unification of physics using quantum gravity is and has always been bullshit” or “Time travel is impossible. Period.”
And in this game… all that stuff… for the duration of the campaign… you can pretend it was possible. You get your jetpack. You get your raygun. You get your Chocolate Factory. With Pure Imagination, you can forget about the hard limits of reality and dream dreams of unlimited human and transhuman potential… for a while.
I’m not sure you understand how appreciation works.
Appreciation:”the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value”, “clear perception or recognition, especially of aesthetic quality”, In order to appreciate rule-breaking, you must first know the rules. That’s why a cultured person might have fun contemplating an abstract work and sharing the in-joke with the artist (I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE) while Average Joe will only see a doodle and will ask for figurative Art, perhaps of the sort that involves naked women and ceramic jars.
The charm of a role-playing game allows you to do what you couldn’t do otherwise. The impossible. The more knowledgeable you are about why something is impossible, the more you can appreciate the escapism of playing a simulation of doing.
This is why a rollerblader would enjoy Jet Set Radio Future, a skater would have great fun with Tony Hawk, a climber or parkourer will enjoy Assasin’s Creed or Mirror’s Edge more than average-sedentary-joe: they know that if they tried that in Real Life, they’d break their own fingers… at the very least. It’s why an actual soldier will enjoy the less realistic shooters, a racing pilot will have crazy fun with Burnout, and architect would get their mind blown by Bioshock, many types of Engineer will be greatly entertained by Steamboy.…
And a rationalist, especially a scientist one, will be greatly entertained by a game about Mad Science, where you build all those technological Wonders you dreamed of as a child without all the frustrating constraints you have been discovering as you pursued your dreams as an adult. “No, you can’t build that complicated yet beautiful contraption. Well, actually you can, but here’s a thing that does the same function, is lots cheaper, and much more reliable. It’s made in China.” or “No, you can’t build a general AI yet, and no, it won’t arise from “complexity” or “No, your unification of physics using quantum gravity is and has always been bullshit” or “Time travel is impossible. Period.”
And in this game… all that stuff… for the duration of the campaign… you can pretend it was possible. You get your jetpack. You get your raygun. You get your Chocolate Factory. With Pure Imagination, you can forget about the hard limits of reality and dream dreams of unlimited human and transhuman potential… for a while.