Writing Precise Rules response. 

Writing Precise Rules response. 

I’ve always been a “learn by doing” type of person, so reading rules in general are not my preferred way to learn things. I also feel like I’ve rarely learned a game from the rules alone (so the games I’ve learned from reading the rules in this class have definitely been a real experience to go through). I appreciate the way this was written in the context of examples of poorly written rules – it definitely helped tangibly solidify alot of the sentiments presented. Writer’s bias is so prevalent, especially for writing rules for a game one designs themselves. It’s easy to look at your own written rules and think, of course, this is so obvious and self-explanatory and how could anyone misinterpret or not understand? But rules like some of the examples that are shown and the concepts they bely are so useful for making one take a step back and examine their own to make sure the same mistakes aren’t being unwittingly committed. It’s not an action of intentional misleading – it just is difficult to realize oneself. Some of the rules were ridiculous – I was progressively more terrified as I was reading Advanced Squad Leader’s example rule. I forget, sometimes, that some games are so much more complex than the ones that I’ve played before and that there is a level of detail and complexity and finesse in the rules themselves to allow for understanding. Some I didn’t think would even exist, like the “soak the map with lighter fluid and apply a flame.” I think it’s cool that even the rules retain aspects of the tone and personality of a game, but that’s not something I thought I’d see. I think some of the rules seem self-explanatory on the surface, and then I see the example, and it’s quite jarring. I will definitely keep this in mind when writing the final rules for our game.

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