Quote Originally Posted by toughluck View Post
In pen and paper games, the person playing the caster is expected to formulate his or her wish, and the DM is expected to wring and twist the wording of the wish to its fullest potential while staying technically within the limits.
Not at all. Wishes are only twisted in that way when they are being granted by a malicious entity (devils are particularly notorious for this), or sometimes if they are being granted by someone who is only granting them out of obligated servitude.

A wish spell, being 9th level, and among the most powerful magic that ordinary spellcasters can summmon, quite literally warps reality around the caster's desires, and accomplishes whatever effect desired, to the extent that a DM feels that a 9th level spell could accomplish the effect. The caster himself is shaping the effect of the spell, so it would stand to reason that under ordinary circumstances, there would be no twisting of the wording of any wish. Certainly going by the rules, there is absolutely no obligation on the part of a DM to twist the wish in such cases. The only time it should ever be an issue is when the DM feels that the wish is particularly selfish, excessive, or potentially unbalancing.