here's what I'm saying about Rumiko Takahashi

the basic concept behind the immersive sim genre is that you implement multiple overlapping systems within a game world, then allow them to interact with each other

because the game is driven by systems instead of scripted encounters, unexpected emergent events can occur

creating interesting and compelling gameplay situations that nevertheless follow an underlying intuitive logic

this is how Rumiko Takahashi writes comedy

she comes up with strongly-defined characters that behave in predictable (or predictably unpredictable) ways

then comes up with strange situations that follow consistent rules

and allows the collision of character, character, and situation to cause emergent hijinks

In an ideal world this is how I would run tabletop, but I've never been confident enough in my improvisation or character logic skills to move much farther than "throw PCs against an NPC's elaborate plan and see how that breaks it"

Doing this for long-form fiction?

That takes a unique kind of genius

Yeah this sounds about right

it takes a unique kind of genius

and rumiko is that genius

it's a feeling not unlike watching a meticulously-placed domino chain go off

no part of it is a surprise, really, you can see all the parts from the start

but damn is it fun to watch

with the whole Ryuunosuke and Ran situation, you knew where it was going from the moment Lum tried in good faith to correct Ran's misunderstanding

rube goldberg story building