>From: Brian Curley <bkcurley_at_...>
> > Absolutely.� The objective of the contest has changed, therefore it's a
> > different contest.�
See, this is where the trouble starts. With the assumption that there's one goal in a contest. There are two. Usually these are diametrically opposed, and often established by assuming the opposite. But not always. Consider:
Character A wants to kill B, and B wants to kill A. Typical.
But just as often Character A wants to kill B, and B wants to flee from A.
In the second contest, if B changes his goal from flee to kill A (turns to face him, perhaps realizing he can't outrun A), then he hasn't allowed his opponent to obtain his goal. He's merely changed his goal. The character should only go to zero if/when he accepts his opponent's goal. Giving up on your own is not the same.
Now there may be situations in which you can't reasonably change to a certain goal, without allowing your opponent to win. But the barbarian and princess situation is not one of them. Just because you kiss her, doesn't mean that you've accepted the premise of the original argument. You've just changed tactics and your goal.
Mike
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