MurderWeasel wrote:
Here are my thoughts. For context, I really like the Advantages/Disadvantages section in profiles...
and I created
an altered template without them for use on Mini, so this is something I've given a lot of thought.
First off, the historical context. Circa V2, Advantages/Disadvantages were used, as you note, for balance purposes. They helped staff keep things in check, weed out obviously unfitting elements, and balance a game far more frequently involving competitive/adversarial elements. In my opinion, they were mediocre in this capacity for all but the most egregious problems. Bluntly, if a handler wants to sneak stuff through, there are plenty of ways to do so that won't register at an Advantages/Disadvantages level, and even in the old days people were decent at justifying scenes that weren't necessarily what one would expect from the profile.
That said, I would argue that Advantages/Disadvantages have not served primarily in a balance/weeding-out capacity since V3.
What Advantages/Disadvantages do really well, and what always drew my focus when I was staff, is get handlers thinking about the game proper even at an early stage. Advantages/Disadvantages is the one part of the profile that explicitly brushes on the semi-inevitable fate of these characters (ending up in a death game). This section of the profile thus serves as a sort of summation of the material that's come with an eye towards where the character is going. It shows that a handler is considering how their character will interact with the game, and it demonstrates a level of nuance. This is why characters have traditionally been bounced for lack of either category. It's not really about balance at all (as long as there's nothing really absurd, but that's usually caught by the realism standards anyways).
This is a big part of why I'm so nitpicky about these things. I want to know what makes
your character distinct in an island context. More than that, I want to know that you know that. I think, in most circumstances, a well-rounded individual will have advantages and drawbacks. Replace SOTF with a reality television show featuring varied challenges, or a college application, and you can find things to fill these sections just as well. Maybe your character has a strong stomach so can swallow lots of cockroaches, but gets vertigo so will struggle with balance beams. Maybe your character is a straight-A, perfect GPA student... but spent so much time on school they're lacking in extracurriculars that the best schools search for as evidence of a rounded candidate.
Advantages/Disadvantages also serve as a great little summary for staff when it comes to figuring out terrorist conclusions, and for handlers as a whole who want to get an idea of what your character is about in a hurry without reading their entire profile (like, say, if you dropped into a thread with them and they're eager to post). This section will usually hit the biggest bullet points of who they are
now, which is what's really most important in the short term. This is part of why I like them to be good, considered, and supported by the bio. If a handler has really considered their character well, they should hopefully be able to come up with or spin traits to fit here nicely. This section encourages creativity and careful consideration in that way.
I think of Advantages and Disadvantages this way: Disadvantages tell you what sort of trouble your character is likely to get into. Advantages are the tools they have to get out of trouble again.
A character who's not the brightest bulb when it comes to socialization may get manipulated into giving up their weapons, only to see them turned around. This is a situation particular to a character who can't see through deceptions too well (or at least, far more likely for them). And then, how does the character get out alive? A physically powerful character may lunge at their captor, overpowering them and reclaiming their weapon. A weak but intelligent character may try to reason with their foe, arguing that sacrificing an ally for a weapon is a shortsighted tactical decision. A brave and kind character may call the bluff of their betrayer, throwing themselves on their status as classmates and the inherent humanity of the other to change their mind. Any of these options can create a great scene, with real potential for drama, success or failure beside the point. I like handlers to have the rough outline for what their character is good and bad at so that, if ever stumped facing such a situation, they have something to fall back on.
So then, why cut the sections for Program Prologue? Basically, the abbreviated template is succinct enough to easily read in short order, more of a summary overall. The more planned and considered nature of Prologue means there's a solid chance handlers already have a good idea how their characters will react, and the stakes are on the whole lower. It's also a test, to see how things go. But in general, I think Advantages and Disadvantages have some really valuable applications to all handlers, and that has absolutely nothing to do with any sort of ideas about game balance.
