Uh, no, it just seems you don't really understand what is meant by 'simulationist' (and have thus succeeding in insultiing them all by implying that simulationists can't roleplay). A simulationist is someone that prefers for a roleplaying world to act in a consistent manner, with the various characters acting as actual humans (or whatever) would, and resolutions be made solely with regard to what is the most likely outcome, rather than what best suits the story, say. One type of simulationist is the player who gets strongly into character, and tries to think as his character would think in such a situation. These players tend to be simulationist is that having events in the world be driven by the needs of a narrative is extremely hard on suspension of disbelief, which makes it difficult to remain in character (the movie "The Truman Show" provides an excellent illustration of this). If the game instead emphasizes the narrative aspects of play, then it can become hard to immerse oneself in the character since the character is subjected to inconsistent and distorted events; it becomes easier to try to play in 'Actor' mode, where you attempt to convey the feelings of a character in a story, rather than attempt to immerse yourself in a more 'realistic' character.
It is for this reason that I read the preliminary reports on Hero Wars with some apprehension, as I very much enjoy the experience of immersing myself into character and would prefer that GMs who wish to tell a story stick to that rather than running role-playing games...
George W. Harris gharris_at_dur.mindspring.com ------------------------------
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