The "G" in RPG

[Umbran]

In fact, its the RP portion that I think is more important to an RPG than the G.

Well, that makes sense, because it is the RP portion that differentiates RPGs from other Gs. If youaren't going to put emphasis on the RP, you might as well play some other G with less overhead.

You can have almost no game mechanics, or extensive simulation attempts, and it doesnt effect my perception of an RPG.

So, there is a point where the G takes up so much of the cognitive effort of play that the players are thoroughly distracted from the RP. Exactly where that point lies depends on the player, the rules, and the tools at hand to support the player.

Rather notably, the STYLE of rules and player matchup can be more important than the AMOUNT of rules. Different players can internalize different types of rules differently, with the end result that, say, while D&D 3e may be an overwhelming mess to one player, that same player might not have much problem with World of Darkness rules.

So, really, your mileage may vary, and we should not mistake our own driving for the only way to drive.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

So, there is a point where the G takes up so much of the cognitive effort of play that the players are thoroughly distracted from the RP. Exactly where that point lies depends on the player, the rules, and the tools at hand to support the player.

Accurate. It also suggests that we can be more forgiving of even quite complex mechanics that only matter during parts of the gameplay loop where no RP is involved. The character generation systems in some superhero games are good examples of this - they take up a lot of mental space in session zero, and then largely get out of the way once you're actually playing. Similarly, complex character advancement systems (I'd put 3/3.5 and 5e D&D here but YMMV) that don't intrude into gameplay are pretty much fine - as long as the character sheet itself doesn't become too unwieldy to use over time, something that can be mitigated with good sheet layouts.

 

[payn]

Well, that makes sense, because it is the RP portion that differentiates RPGs from other Gs. If youaren't going to put emphasis on the RP, you might as well play some other G with less overhead.



So, there is a point where the G takes up so much of the cognitive effort of play that the players are thoroughly distracted from the RP. Exactly where that point lies depends on the player, the rules, and the tools at hand to support the player.

Rather notably, the STYLE of rules and player matchup can be more important than the AMOUNT of rules. Different players can internalize different types of rules differently, with the end result that, say, while D&D 3e may be an overwhelming mess to one player, that same player might not have much problem with World of Darkness rules.

So, really, your mileage may vary, and we should not mistake our own driving for the only way to drive.

Of course, the entire purpose was to hear folks take and have a discussion about it. Not discover some line in the sand to fight over. So far, the threads been pretty good.

 

[Umbran]

Of course, the entire purpose was to hear folks take and have a discussion about it. Not discover some line in the sand to fight over.

I wasn't setting a line in the sand. I was making an observation supporting how we all come to have our own lines in the sand, and that's okay.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Well, that makes sense, because it is the RP portion that differentiates RPGs from other Gs. If youaren't going to put emphasis on the RP, you might as well play some other G with less overhead.

There's some pretty messy spots when you start to slide out to micro-tactical games, especially ones that assume some potential progression of individual figures in ongoing campaigns. I suspect where someone would draw the line on Five Parsecs from Home/Five Leagues from the Borderlands would be really, really split, for example.

 

[loverdrive]

I found the best approach for me is to compartmentalize G into its own thing so it can leave the whole RP business alone.

Basically

• A) Make rules as abstract as possible, so they don't map 1-to-1 to the fictional situation
• B) Make resolution mechanic be an interesting game in of itself
• C) Use results of the resolution mechanic as loose oracles to push the fictional situation forward