Re: Having fun on all levels

From: Eric Rowe <rowe_at_chaosium.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 12:17:59 -0800


>Well, yes and no IMHO. The point of roleplaying games is to have fun (it's
>a game after all) *roleplaying*. Otherwise there is no reason to call them
>RPGs, no?

Actually, no. They are called role playing games because the 'playing piece' in this game is a character with a detailed persona. Therefore playing the game is akin to taking on a role. There is no aim inherent in this that says you must 'act like your character' or some such. That is a style of play issue and is advocated in some systems, especially live-action versions. The first RPGs certainly were never intended to be played as such since they were all wargamers writing them.

> Anyway, I don't think to be an elitist bastard: I'm not saying that
>roleplaying is better than wargaming, or more enjoyable. And in every
>session (especially of RQ) there was IME a lot of both. But it's something
>different. So, yes, better roleplaying groups should IMHO aim at level 3
>reality. Better wargaming group probably will aim at level 1, better writers
>at level 2 and better scientists at level 4. But I really don't see any
>elitism in this.

Since we don't share the same definition of a roleplaying game, your version is right for what you consider a roleplaying game to be. I have a different definition, where 3 is certainly not a goal, but a style. Of course, not being insane, I believe my version to be the correct one.

Cheers,

Eric Rowe


Powered by hypermail