Light or Dark Future?

[Dauntless]

What's the matter with a game in which you can't "win"?

I find the idea of a "Kobayashi Maru" test fascinating because it puts players in the very unfamiliar role of having to deal with loss. I think this is something that games avoid like the plague, when in fact, I think it is something it should face head on.

Ultimately, as real human beings, we are going to die. We have to face this fact. We don't like to think about death because it just seems so pessimistic and morbid. But almost all religions agree that only by accepting death can you accept (and value) life in it's most pure form. From the code of Bushido, to the martyrdom of Christianity, to the loss of attachment of Buddhism, to the existential living at the edge of death, almost all religions and philosophies embrace the idea of coming to terms with one's mortality. But it is not just the avoidance of death the religions speak of, but that life's actions must be pursued for the right reasons. In most religions it is also taught that your actions should not be based on the thought that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. Whether you look at God testing Job, or at Krishna explaining to Arjuna that karma is based upon your means and not the end, this is something we should keep in mind. Hence, victory (the fruits of our labor) should not be the goal, but rather the actions that we chose in spite of the world around us, even if it means we perish and "lose".

If we only ever think about victory then we lose a chance to grow and we become spoiled. We feel that if we can't win then what's the point? The point ultimately is that we have to live our lives by our beliefs, accepting everything that happens to us with grace. This is the truest test of steel for anyone. Is it any less of a victory to hold onto one's ideals despite his struggles being in vain than it is to overcome your adversary and let "good triumph"? Finding meaning in the middle of seeming loss and despair is I think a far greater triumph than finding it when the world is going your way.

Call me a tragedian, but I see nothing wrong with playing in a setting in which the only way to win....is to lose.

[tgrandjean]

I prefer dark futures.
Why?
Problems = conflict.
Conflict = a good game.
Dark futures tend to have multiple points for conflict, a high potential for combat (wargaming is fun), and much potential for angst.
Technology solves the problems related to survival (food and shelter) while adding to the problems of social inequity, resource distribution, and generating pollution and other side effects.
In reality, things generally tend to get better.
That is not to say that there are often unwanted side effects.
But in fiction and in games I enjoy playing where something has gone (often horribly) wrong.

[tkdguy]

I'm comfortable playing in either scenario, or in a "gray" scenario. It really all depends on what I feel like playing at the time.