Car News

Increasingly, the question becomes one of immersion. I tie it back to
my original thesis on the anonymity of self vs. other, and how much
you "inhabit" a RPG. As we've seen in past rulings, the public, the
law, and different cultures can all be very fickle as to what "crosses
the line" for immersive play. Due to the pervasive nature of video
games and the huge amounts of money they generate, they're an easy
target, but really they're just audio/video. LARPing utilizes far
more senses.

I've seen design documentaries of video games where they intentionally
make death less realistic so that it's still fun to play. Is this any
different from a DM graphically describing a character's death? In
high school my friends played a host of evil characters and did awful
things to innocent villagers. Should that be regulated?

It's becoming clear that the line between fantasy/reality is blurring
enough that the law is starting to notice.

On Dec 9, 9:51 am, Paul Cardwell <hippogriff...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> There is a tremendous difference between discussion and sanctions, even assuming the International Red Cross had the power (which it doesn't).  The subject is well worth discussing, indeed CAR-PGa has in the past and can in the future.  After all, the Pentagon routinely uses first-person shooter "games" in its training and has pronounced them effective training tools, while most psychologists' studies have claimed the average person can separate fact from fiction.  The "follow orders instantly and unquestioningly" atmosphere of boot camp may well be the difference.
>
> As for the claim that RPG does not provide for such social controls, once again, Mythworld does and PCs have been arrested and never heard from again for violating these controls.  There are magic spells which enable authorities to recreate a crime and sufficient constabulary to prevent resistance.  After all, adventurers' licenses can be revoked, making the band just a bunch of criminals in the eyes of the law.
>
> Paul

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