Magical Computer

Basic Information

We all know computers exist, and most of us interact with them on a daily basis. None-the-less, for some folks computers are still bizarre, almost magical, and more than a little frightening. Sadly, most of those people happen to have jobs writing scripts for TV and Movies. When computers appear in such shows, they have very little in common with the way computers work in the real world.

Here's a few examples of the strange ways computers function in the media:

• AI Is A Crapshoot
• Beeping Computers
• Billions Of Buttons
• Computer Equals Monitor
• Computer Equals Tapedrive
• The Computer Is Your Friend
• The Cracker
• Deus Est Machina
• Destruction Equals Off Switch
• Enhance Button
• Everything Is Online
• Exact Progress Bar
• Extreme Graphical Representation
• Facial Recognition Software
• Hacker Cave
• Highly Visible Password
• Hollywood Hacking
• Holographic Terminal
• Instant AI Just Add Water
• Internet Incorporated
• It's A Small Net After All
• Logic Bomb
• Magical Database
• Magic Floppy Disk
• Master Computer
• Matrix Raining Code
• Password Slot Machine
• Piecemeal Funds Transfer
• Playful Hacker
• Plug N Play Technology
• Rapid Fire Typing
• Sinister Surveillance
• Slow Loading Internet Image
• Viewer Friendly Interface
• The Web Always Existed
• We Will Use Micros In The Future
• Zeroes And Ones

Sources

Bibliography

1. TV Tropes Wiki

2. Wikipedia on Computers

Game and Story Use

• As with all Hollywood Science, the GM has to choose between realism and verisimilitude, or cheesy in-genre fallacy that can be kind fun to play. Unlike Space Does Not Work That Way, however, there's a very good chance your players interact with computers on a daily basis and cry foul if you get too crazy.