6 Comments
Mar 13, 2023Liked by Alexander Macris

An excellent defence of the rational basis of simulation games!

Expand full comment
Mar 13, 2023Liked by Alexander Macris

Wonderful essay written by a person too cowardly to commit to proving the existence of Nous for the sake of elf games <3

Expand full comment
author

I know that I'm a continuous disappointment to you, son

Expand full comment

"Likewise, we can play a tabletop RPG because we want drama or challenge, but we can also play a tabletop RPG because we know it will stimulate our noetic faculty in pleasurable ways. Verisimilitude is a sensation that we experience, and creating that sensory experience can be a design goal in and of itself."

'Pleasurable stimulation of the noetic faculty' is a novel idea to this one whose approach to these questions has been entirely wargame centric, but I like it. It has the ring of truth. You might say, it triggers my noetic faculty.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks! I believe I am the first to express the concept in words, though we have all experienced it.

Expand full comment

"C'est un philosophe qui nous apprend la vertu." Montaigne

Expand full comment