Hullo, :)

Could some soul kindly point me towards threads where I might read up on differences between action, scene and conflict resolution?

Also, threads on search time and handling time would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

J.

Hi J.,

Check out Task vs. conflict and scene vs. action?

I'm not sure if we've ever really kicked search times and handling times around in detail.

Best,
Ron

Hey, Ron, :)

Ron Edwards wrote: I'm not sure if we've ever really kicked search times and handling times around in detail.

Hi J.,

No need for approximates. Here are the real deals.

SEARCH TIME
Time and energy spent arriving at a number or other necessary information prior to the moment of resolution. In most games, this means coming up with a target number to roll over or under.

HANDLING TIME
Time and energy spent arriving at the group-agreement of "what happens" following the moment of resolution. In most games, this means rolling for damage, comparing to armor value, establishing severity of the wound, and so forth.

As I've written in previous essays, the early 90s saw a consistent effort across nearly all games published to reduce Search time. Reducing Handling time has remained a fascinating issue. Some games have found ways to have Handling time actually enhance the goals of play rather than make people wait for it (e.g. The Dying Earth). Others have found ways to incorporate Drama into that phase (e.g. The Pool), which is to say, Fortune-in-the-Middle.

Best,
Ron

Ron,

On Handling Time, does this include deliberate mechanical delays?

What I mean is, suppose you have a system (this isn't totally hypothetical -- it's actually something I'm thinking about) where Combatant A pulls the trigger, then you cut to some other scene entirely, then you cut back to dealing with whether Combatant B is/is not hit. Would this be included in Handling Time, or is the question at stake how long it would take if you didn't cut away like that, i.e. how long it takes to look up the damage on Table E of the Random Limb-Loss Chart?

Hi Chris,

We're talking about canonical system here - pure design, rules, that sort of thing. So I guess answering your question would come down to whether the system demanded a cut at that point during resolution.

(With the proviso that one may "always ignore a rule," I know. One may ignore hit location in RuneQuest.)

If it does, i.e., the dice hit the table and then it's part of that system to go and check out how the negotiations are going across town, then it's part of Handling time.

If, however, you are talking about a play technique of scene cutting, then no, that's not Handling time that's inherent to the resolution system per se, rather, it's a scene cut that the group happened to insert in the middle of resolution.

Best,
Ron