The Player's Bill of Rights

Gamasutra has a Designer's Notebook column up this week offering up a Player's Bill of Rights. Written by Ernest Adams, the article decries the many indignities that we as players should never be forced to suffer. From the article: "The Right to Feedback: The player has a right to know how she's doing, and in particular, to some means of determining if she's in danger of losing the game. If the player doesn't get feedback, she can't adjust her strategy, and the outcome will feel random. Players need to know whether their approach is working or not."

Comments

Re:This bill is too long

[wbren]

I think that all of the points in all of these bills will be addressed if we only get the right to
(0) Return a game for a full refund if we do not like it.

I had an opportunity to view the rough drafts of the bill. Your suggestion nearly made it into the final version. Here's a history:

First Draft (0) The Right to Have Hell Freeze Over...

The author felt the wording was a little loose and vague, so he modified it slightly:

Second Draft (0) The Right to Pirate the Latest Games Through Legitimate Retail Channels...

The wording was still a little bit off, so he re-worded it yet again:

Third Draft (0) The Right to Return a Game for a Full Refund if We Don't Like It...

Then he came down from his acid trip and decided to remove that right altogether because it didn't make any sense to someone not on an acid trip. The literary process is really quite interesting. But seriously, that suggestion makes no sense to a retailer. Software generally has a return policy of a) no returns if it's opened or b) exchange for the exact same title (to protect against defective media). That won't change as long as publishers care about preventing piracy.

Re:One

[jcenters]

Alternation is awkward. He or she used repeatedly is sexist and exclusive. You can't use they or them because that be bad English.

So here's my solution: Combine "he" and "she." Of course, that pretty much just leaves "she," and it's not really inclusive, because it leaves out objects, like artificial intelligences and robots.

So She + He + It = Shit, our new, all inclusive pronoun.

Take for instance, this sentence that appeared in TFA:

"If the player doesn't get feedback, shit can't adjust shit's strategy, and the outcome will feel random. Players need to know whether their approach is working or not."

See, MUCH better!