On Sat, May 14, 2016 at 05:40:49AM +0100, Timothy Collinson wrote:
> Essentially I don't get the problem with it.  If time is a problem
> just ignore it. But then I'm possibly a tad free and easy like that.
> Much more interested in fun and the 'story' than following the
> Haynes manual to the letter.

I quite like the chargen mini-game -- but only as a mini-game in its
own right, not as a way to start characters for a role playing game!

The same applies to lots of other RPG game mechanics.  They're often
interesting as game mechanics in their own right, but somewhat suck as
a means to determine what should actually happen in the game world
being played.  My ideal system would not require the players to even
know what the game mechanics are, so they don't have to "switch
context" from their character's point of view back to minutiae of game
rules in order to make informed decisions.

All of which completely fails to explain why one of my favourite game
systems is GURPS, which embodies the exact antithesis of this view.
Though I guess I use a highly modified form of GURPS in which points
don't exist and most of the weird frills in the game mechanics have
been excised.  That points to liking the detailed descriptiveness and
breadth of coverage of GURPS, just not the intricate detail of the
game mechanics that get layered on top.

- Tim