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Originally Posted by rmadge
Pratchett's Law of Weapon Design is sheer brilliance. I love it.
It's interesting to note that the massive on-line fantasy games out there have drawn upon every culture imaginable in order to populate their weapons and armour inventory. And in order to be useful, any of these weapons must provide a fully functional and efficient means to fight and kill. I've seen instances of an 8 foot long pike being wielded in virtual hand to hand (hand to claw?) combat.
I have a feeling these games are misrepresenting the purpose, strengths, weaknesses and usage of many ethnographic weapons, all in the name of providing some flavour.
Rick
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Nothing wrong with an eight foot spear. I work out with one myself. An eight foot pike is a bit short though. That said, combat's fairly simple, and often, killing blows don't look fancy. This conflicts with the purpose of video, which is to entertain. As a result, we see the proliferation of flashy maneuvers to keep people entertained. That's okay, actually. Both Chinese martial arts and capoeira have strong entertainment components, as well as much less flashy and more dangerous moves. Entertainment has a long history with weapons and martial arts.
Best,
F