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Disillusionist · 03-12-2008, 02:29 PM

Agh! Mina brings me to point ELEVEN, in what is sure to be my never-ending tirade of Things (see topic).
David Letterman, eat your heart out, for not thinking outside the Top Ten box:

11. Transparent Denials That Your Game Is Derivative
IF you decide to include Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits/Halflings, Humans Of Dunadain Life Expectancies, Drow (dark elves), Dryder (half-spider/half-drow), or your Druid spell list titles read like a Xerox of the AD&D Player's Handbook, at the very least, acknowledge that your inspiration, 'homage', or shameless plagiarism is Tolkienesque or Gygaxian. I don't think anyone will fault you for wanting to introduce your take on these giants, and an entire genre/industry has grown up around essentially wanting to provide people with a caption of Middle Earth or Greyhawk (or some other beloved literature), with twists. But with the lates J.R.R. and E.G.G., at least nod your head when it's pointed out that changing the racename of a tart-eating, rolypoly, three-foot human with furry hard-soled feet does not de-hobbitify it. I promise, I won't go running to the Tolkien estate, and you'll have my respect for honesty.

And Mina, I played a game wherein if you didn't get the syntax just so for entering a hobbit domicile, you got a head injury. Try enough times wrongly, and it killed you from head crits. (and this was in the -shops-, and quite comically, just outside the healer's door...talk about job security for the raisers...)
So, while I don't mind playing a hobbit on occasion, in this case, you'd have to burn first, figure out syntax later. Meanwhile, my widdle hobbit would be just inside, -refusing- to munch a tart no matter how many flavors they came in, waving a headbandage you can't reach.

Having said that, I won't refuse a game just because it has <absolutelynothobbitsbecausewedon'tdeadlift> in it, but they had better taste just as good as Elves, the other white meat.

03-12-2008, 02:29 PM	#68
Disillusionist Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 83	Re: Things that make you NOT play a MUD Agh! Mina brings me to point ELEVEN, in what is sure to be my never-ending tirade of Things (see topic). David Letterman, eat your heart out, for not thinking outside the Top Ten box: 11. Transparent Denials That Your Game Is Derivative IF you decide to include Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits/Halflings, Humans Of Dunadain Life Expectancies, Drow (dark elves), Dryder (half-spider/half-drow), or your Druid spell list titles read like a Xerox of the AD&D Player's Handbook, at the very least, acknowledge that your inspiration, 'homage', or shameless plagiarism is Tolkienesque or Gygaxian. I don't think anyone will fault you for wanting to introduce your take on these giants, and an entire genre/industry has grown up around essentially wanting to provide people with a caption of Middle Earth or Greyhawk (or some other beloved literature), with twists. But with the lates J.R.R. and E.G.G., at least nod your head when it's pointed out that changing the racename of a tart-eating, rolypoly, three-foot human with furry hard-soled feet does not de-hobbitify it. I promise, I won't go running to the Tolkien estate, and you'll have my respect for honesty. And Mina, I played a game wherein if you didn't get the syntax just so for entering a hobbit domicile, you got a head injury. Try enough times wrongly, and it killed you from head crits. (and this was in the -shops-, and quite comically, just outside the healer's door...talk about job security for the raisers...) So, while I don't mind playing a hobbit on occasion, in this case, you'd have to burn first, figure out syntax later. Meanwhile, my widdle hobbit would be just inside, -refusing- to munch a tart no matter how many flavors they came in, waving a headbandage you can't reach. Having said that, I won't refuse a game just because it has <absolutelynothobbitsbecausewedon'tdeadlift> in it, but they had better taste just as good as Elves, the other white meat.