Re: Real Life Power Gamers from Sandy Petersen on 1996-03-01 (Glorantha Digest Vol 02)

From: Sandy Petersen <sandyp_at_idgecko.idsoftware.com>
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 96 09:40:13 -0600

> The more complex and "realistic" a game world is, the more a
> minimaxer is thwarted. Or rather, the more he is forced to _play_,
> rather than just follow his formulae.

>How do you come to this conclusion? Wouldn't the minimaxer simply
come up with >a more complex formula? In your examples, you show a "Mindless Minimaxer" >caught in a system/world more complex than the one which rewards his simple >algorithms. I don't see why such a player shouldn't just observe his >environment and construct a more rewarding calculus for behavior.

The more complex the world, the more difficult it is to make your formula. After a certain point, it's easier to roleplay.

Also, my conclusion isn't based on armchair reasoning. After gamemastering for 23 years, I've seen a number of power-gamers become roleplayers. I've also seen power-gamers start making the first steps towards roleplaying, then backslide again.

Invariably, one of two things caused the first move away from powergaming:

Boredom. The player gets sick of always being the same thing, and starts experimenting with his character. Eventually, this results in playing a wider range of characters and usually into true roleplaying.
Envy. The player sees the other players having more fun with their peg-legged ducks and superstitious headhunters than he is with his super-dude.

Good gamemastering is needed for either of these two impulses to take effect -- if the powergamers' first faltering steps are rewarded by instant death or by an immediate decrease in game rewards, like a dog he'll return to his vomit.

Too often, an GM doesn't recognize the initial step, and instead punishes the player, chortling in having finally "got" the damn powergamer. Example: I played in a game where one guy who _always_ played a Storm Bull decided to try out a Humakti for his next character. Now, this wasn't much of a step towards roleplaying, but hey, it was a step. At least a Humakti was something new. The GM responded by inflicting a geas on him (no right leg armor) and having that geas prove a dire handicap at every possible opportunity (trolls would use Sureshot to aim at that leg with their blade-venomed javelins, frex). The guy's next charaxter was another Storm Bull. He'd learned _his_ lesson.

If instead, the GM had had barmaids walk up to the Humakti and admire his courage and manliness in going without right leg armor, or had some ruffian walk up, start to work himself into a fight, then notice the lack of leg armor, realize he was a Humakti, and back off cravenly, whimpering for mercy, the player would have been _proud_ of his geas, even if in combat he still tended to see those damn trolls aiming their blows.

Sandy