{"id":22423,"date":"2018-10-22T23:55:10","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T12:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.campaignmastery.com\/blog\/?p=22423"},"modified":"2018-10-22T23:50:40","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T12:50:40","slug":"construction-methodology-and-rpgs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.campaignmastery.com\/blog\/construction-methodology-and-rpgs\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Methodology and RPGs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image courtesy pixabay.com\/TheDigitalArtist<\/p><\/div>\n

There’s a show that I like to watch now and then on a local Free-To-Air lifestyle channel called “Rescue My Renovation”. It appeals because it not only explains what was done wrongly but the correct way that it should have been done, and why.<\/p>\n

This presents practical information that I’ve found useful from time to time in both real life and behind the GM screen (I never forget that every one of the techniques employed was a lesson learned the hard way at some point in the past).<\/p>\n

Host John DeSilva comes across as personable and a genuinely nice guy, a “favorite uncle” who just happens to be a builder.<\/p>\n

I’m not a handyman by anyone’s measure. My father, brother, and brother-in-law are far more in that category than I would ever claim to be, and my uncle is an honest-to-god builder, but I’ve picked up enough from hanging around them every now and then, and from shows like this, that I can quite happily deal with any construction-related situation that comes up while in the GMing hot seat.<\/p>\n

The show is from the US’ DIY Network, part of the Discovery group of channels, and quite deservedly received a solid 7.7\/10 on IMDB. I’m always a little suspicious of the “reality” of “Reality TV”, but all the indications are that this one is absolutely genuine. There has also been some criticism of renovations performed by the DIY Channel’s former incarnation, but none of that has landed on the doorstep of this particular program.<\/p>\n

It’s pity that the show seems to have very quietly vanished after the 2014 season – never formally canceled, just not being filmed any more (more than anything else, that tells me that the DIY Renovation craze of the last 2-3 decades is faltering, but that’s just a side-note).<\/p>\n

In this particular episode, DeSilva recited what is practically his mantra – (paraphrasing”) there is a right way to do things and a wrong way. The right way is demolition, get your framework right, call in your specialist services (plumbers, electricians, etc), floors & walls & ceilings, and finishing – paint, decorations, furniture, and so on.<\/p>\n

My first<\/em> thought was that this wasn’t completely true, and had even been violated a time or two on the show. That’s because it didn’t make mention of two additional services that aren’t always needed but are critical when they are<\/em> involved: Architecture and Design.<\/p>\n

And my second<\/em> thought was that there are lessons here for the creators and GMs of RPG Adventures. In fact, a number of different areas of application immediately tumbled forth into my consciousness, one after the other, making this article all-but-inevitable. But, before I get into those applications, let me expand a little on that first thought.<\/p>\n

Architecture<\/h5>\n

The construction methods of most homes are well known and don’t actually need architectural design – you decide the dimensions and layout of the rooms, which gives the dimensions and overall shape of the construction, lay out your foundations accordingly, build everything with an ample margin of safety on your tolerances, and simply apply all the lessons of practicality that have been mastered over the centuries when it comes to this sort of thing.<\/p>\n

There are three occasions when architects are still required. First, when there’s some problem with the site that needs to be fixed or accommodated that will compromise a straightforward design; second, when you want to achieve something fancier than a robust, sturdy, design, including pushing the boundaries of what is permitted by the local government with authority; and third, when the resulting building needs to be certified for use by the general public – department stores, shopping malls, petrol stations, and the like, or for other special purposes (everything from prisons to opera houses falls into this category). And “problems with the site” can include spanning the borders between two or more such local governments – all of whom must be satisfied.<\/p>\n

The reasons architects aren’t really needed (aside perhaps from satisfying Local Governments) for most basic constructions and renovations is that the structures and designs are fairly standardized, and so the loads and methodologies can also be standardized to a large extent.<\/p>\n

Minor variations are easily accommodated by that ample margin of safety that I mentioned – If the frame can support two-and-a-half times what it is normally going to be called upon to bear, variations in design, layout, and construction can generally be accommodated without a second thought. An experienced builder will even know when the design limits and safety margins are in danger of encroachment and call in specialists before their own reputations are endangered.<\/p>\n

In fact, commercial construction operates in a very similar way – decide what the loads are likely to be and then build in an ample margin of safety. It’s when these margins are eroded by compromises that buildings become unsafe.<\/p>\n

This was driven home by a recent episode of another TV show, Seconds From Disaster<\/a>, dealing with the Sampoong Department Store<\/a> in Seoul, which collapsed in 1995. You can read the Wikipedia page to which I’ve linked for more details, but, in brief:<\/p>\n