Thought for Saturday

Today, I played a lot of Call of Duty: Black Ops online. A lot of fun. While I was playing, I spoke with my daughter about Willie Pete standing for White Phosphorus back in Vietnam, and how it didn’t have the same effects in the game (instead being a smoke bomb with minimal damage) as it would set the target on fire and water would put it out, therefore, the game would devolve into a bunch of guys running around either a)on fire or b)throwing Willie Pete grenades all over the place. So, it was obviously omitted for mechanical balance while other things, like radio controlled exploding cars were added.  The lesson to be learned? Design for fun first and foremost, and remember balance is part of fun. If reality gets in the way, blur it. Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!