RE: (OT) Rules "inspiration" (was [OT] Bring and Battle

>The problem is that unless you get into the computer game business,
>someone will always be able to do the math. I don't do probability calc
>during play (nor would allow anyone else), but I like to
>analyze a system offgame to see how it works

This could be seen as minimaxing, your (the player) motives
for doing it of course may not be that.

>IMHO, if you can't do this much math, or don't have someone in
>your team to do it for you, you shouldn't be designing games.
>

I don't agree with this statement. Heuristic (A rule of thumb,
simplification or educated guess that reduces or limits the search
for solutions in domains that are difficult and poorly understood.
Unlike algorithms, heuristics do not guarantee optimal, or even
feasible,
solutions and are often used with no theoretical guarantee) systems are
OK
if they work for you (the player). Tinkering and designing with
heuristic
systems is fine if it gives the result you (the player) want.
I think we all enjoy posting heuristic rules to the list. How
many people do the probability calcs, some I would wager but
probably a minority.

I don't know how GZG designed their games but probably FT
was initially heuristic. I make this assumption from the beer and
pretzel precursor JT posted a while back. I also assume
that he wrote this (the BP game) at an age when he probably didn't
do probability calculations. Its very much like the heuristic space
games I
invented as a teenager.

tim jones
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