(09-21-2015, 01:15 PM)Tyndles Wrote: I dunno about tenses, but the word "would" gets used too much. Â "Gilles would go to the bar, and he would get a mug of ale and he would sit down."
That is a real post I saw, name replaced by my own. Â One would should be enough for the entirety of the post.
At issue here is how much needs to be conditional. Â FFXIV players are a relatively scripted lot, so I'm not sure why people think getting a mug of ale would be written that way. Â We operate under the real-life basis that nobody's going to give much of a shit if you get up to get a drink in a bar.
The conditional is only used in actions you're assuming will be contested (whether you'll tackle someone after diving at their legs). Â I write mostly in the present tense because nobody's going to interrupt Orleans lighting a cigar.
There's an idea that every "would" is an invitation, but it's hardly necessary. Â It's even less necessary in FFXIV. Â Your character is physically walking to the bar. Â I wouldn't think that even needs to be narrated. Â My post would simply be me ordering the mug of ale, then walking to the bar, walking back to the table, and sitting down all gets handled with WASD and the /sit emote.
