Dungeons and Geeks

So I've been listening to a random podcast, focused on the rather well known board and dice game of Dungeons and Dragons.  People who played this game were the original geeks.  I don't know when the game was invented, but it must be around the time computers were starting to become useful and geeks latched onto both.  Computer games weren't popular until much later - however the dungeons and dragons style numbers game is perennially popular.  There are lots of games that roll magical random (as random as computers can be, which they can't) numbers to determine myriad statistics within the game.

I've never played dungeons and dragons, and I've never really wanted to.  Listening to these guys play doesn't really change my views, but it strikes me that for a solid game, fixed to a physical board with real dice it has an amazing amount of variation.  Anything you want to do can be done, which is incredible considering that nothing is actually being done.  The freedom, in essence, is juxtaposed with the simplicity.  As things become more complicated, they become more constrained, with games at least.

This is only an issue because I've started playing Skyrim, a free-form game set within the same ruleset as dungeons and dragons (it's 3D, but everyone has numbers attributed in the background).  I've noticed that as this game is touted as being a build your own adventure, it falls far short.  The problem is that there are rules.  For everything.  I can do an amazing number of things, like pickpocket people, rob their houses, save maidens, kill dragons, but I have to obey the game rules, which often pulls me out of the world.  For example, if I want to rob someones house, I have to make sure the doors are closed, otherwise they'll see me.  Even if there isn't a person within five miles.

It also helps that the people playing DnD on the cast are absolutely hilarious, whereas I'm by myself when I'm playing games, and I'm nowhere near as funny.

That's the obligatory nerd portion of this months blog complete.

And in keeping with the geek theme: