MistahBoweh

MistahBoweh t1_jdujx6g wrote

Cod is not a simulation, nor is it trying to be. I understand where you’re coming from, but it’s like you’re comparing driver’s ed software to need for speed. Obviously the program that helps you learn to do a thing is going to be more helpful than a pure entertainment product that makes no attempt at accuracy.

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MistahBoweh t1_j6m6kzv wrote

English has this thing called adjective order, which might not technically matter in a lot of cases, but will still sound wrong. Other times, it changes the meaning. In situations like this one, the order doesn’t really change the meaning but it does help the recipient understand the meaning.

In this case, you put the material (brick) before the color (brown). Only, the color describes both the material and the wall, so the color comes first. In a similar fashion, despite (big) referring to the size of the wall, it also gives insight into the size or quantity of the materials used, so it comes before the material. The result, ‘the big brown brick wall,’ is the only way to arrange these adjectives because for the reader, each adjective helps to clarify the next.

A brick wall is a wall of bricks. A brown brick wall is a wall made of brown bricks. A big brown brick wall is a wall made of a lot of brown bricks. Presented like this might help you see why, in this example, the right order helps reading comprehension.

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MistahBoweh t1_ixouv7o wrote

Sports are a form of direct conflict, like any other. You establish stakes. You introduce the players. You introduce the rules. You set the stage. The competition escalates to a decisive climax, in which two rival characters come head to head. Both have reasons to win, but only one is allowed to. Whether you’re describing a baseball game or the hunger games, both use the same foundations.

What makes Quidditch a bit different is the Snitch. Many have pointed out that because catching the snitch has such a massive point differential, it makes the quaffle goals feel inconsequential, and they’re mostly right. But, because the Snitch is such an important, game-deciding achievement, every game of quidditch leads up to a dramatic climax. If games of quidditch in the books always ended with one team in a 160+ point lead, so catching the snitch did nothing to the standings, it would be far less exciting.

This is what we often mean by ‘spectator sports.’ Competitions that are tailored to be exciting for the spectators, often at the expense of making the sport less fair for competitors.

If I may lean on media from the same era, Yu-Gi-Oh is a great case study for this. The manga/anime has all kinds of swingy nonsense and game-determinative plays that are exciting for the audience, even if they wouldn’t make for enjoyable gameplay. The actual card game, while still quite flashy, tones down or omits many of the cards that appear in the anime counterpart. This way, the game that appears in the show is a spectator sport, while the game that is played on the table is (hopefully) a healthier game.

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