This was originally posted by Lumin at the Adrift forum. I have taken the liberty of copying it and post it here since I would really like to hear what other people think.
So here goes:
I know even to suggest such a thing is borderline sacrilege for much of the IF community, but bear with me here.
Do we as a community put waaaay too much importance on describing every noun? That doesn’t seem to be something the writers of classic IF concerned themselves with very much, but now failure to do so is considered an immediate indicator of a bad game with lazy writing.
But if a room–like, say, the player character’s kitchen–is at least passably written, do you really feel it’s necessary to examine every individual appliance to be able to envision your surroundings? Nine times out of ten, a kitchen is just a kitchen. Sure, I might sigh a bit and then dutifully go down the list typing x fridge, x counter,x oven, x stovetop, x cabinet, x sink, x dishes, x drawers, x floor, and then so on and so on with the sub-objects, but that’s mainly out of fear I’ll overlook some tiny yet absolutely-necessary-to-win-the-game detail tucked away in an insignificant sub-sub-object somewhere. If I had the author’s assurance from the get-go that everything important would be up front and self evident, you can bet I’d take just a second to rifle through anything openable and then breeze right through to more interesting areas of the game, and you can bet I’d be grateful for it.
And that’s just speaking as a player. As an author, I have found that there is nothing at all that saps my will to live like being in the zone, making my little map, writing out ten rooms and then realizing I’ve got to go back and create and describe 100+ objects…and that’s not even counting the actually important ones that will need more detail.
For an example, here’s a room chosen at random from my Open World WIP:
At a Crossroads
You stand before a weatherbeaten signpost at a junction in the Old King’s Road and and survey the countryside unfolding for miles all around you. East and west, a wide, dusty path crosses the main road and leads through fields of brown stubble, graced here and there by freshly cut piles of golden hay that all but glow in the sunlight and permeate the air with their warm fragrance. Northwards the flat land begins to slope down and become dotted with trees until it runs up against the barely visible gleam of a lake, while to the south it rises into green hills, then further on and up into the distant Greyholm Mountains, wreathed as always in a smoky haze, the only thing which mars the vivid blue of the sky on this bright, cloudless day.
Obviously, this isn’t a very important room. I think it does an okay job setting the scene, but it’s only purpose is to take the player from Point A to B, C, D, or E. Yet just at a glance there’s a dozen insignificant objects I’m required to describe, and God help me if I accidentally include nouns in any of their descriptions.
Only one of these objects actually matters.
So, here you go, Player, I’ve amended it like so:
At a Crossroads
You stand before a weatherbeaten signpost at a junction in the Old King’s Road and and survey the countryside unfolding for miles all around you. East and west, a wide, dusty path crosses the main road and leads through fields of brown stubble, graced here and there by freshly cut piles of golden hay that all but glow in the sunlight and permeate the air with their warm fragrance. Northwards the flat land begins to slope down and become dotted with trees until it runs up against the barely visible gleam of a lake, while to the south it rises into green hills, then further on and up into the distant Greyholm Mountains, wreathed as always in a smoky haze, the only thing which mars the vivid blue of the sky on this bright, cloudless day.
You’re welcome! Now you can continue on to fish at the lake or visit a farmer’s market or discover the secret of the mountains instead of whipping out the ol’ magnifying glass and examing each individual straw in the haystacks just in case I’ve hidden the needle required to beat the game there.
And now I can move on to describing the rest of the world! Just…400 or so more rooms to go…