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General Tabletop Discussion
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A discussion of metagame concepts in game design
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7464257" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>Where my definition of playing a role is that an actor on a stage plays a role - the lines he speaks, his facial expressions, the movements he makes (subject to the spatial restrictions of the stage) are those of the character he's portraying in the stage play. The actors on stage don't speak in the third person (unless it's a really unusual play; Im sure someone's tried it).</p><p></p><p>Playing the role of a PC at a game table is, IMO, the same thing; and it's where the "role-playing" side of the game comes from.</p><p></p><p>I agree that one can play the game perfectly well while referring to one's character in the third person but I don't see it as meeting the definition of role-playing.</p><p></p><p>Acting is role-playing, by its very definition: an actor plays a role.</p><p></p><p>We can all play <strong>the game</strong> in different ways and have fun, but some of those different ways simply don't involve playing a role.</p><p></p><p>"Jocinda will find some way of courteously telling Falstaffe to mind his own business if he asks her about her date last night." If that's how I-as-player describe Jocinda's participation in a conversation then in this instance I'm giving stage directions to a remote game piece. We can all imagine hearing her say something, and the story gets told the same as it otherwise would, but no role actually gets played - Jocinda's "lines", as it were, never get spoken.</p><p></p><p>Compare with LARPing, which almost always involves playing a role in the actor-on-stage sense.</p><p></p><p>Much of the time my play isn't all that awesome. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I'm just trying to point out that the term "role-playing" doesn't necessarily mean what some might think it means.</p><p></p><p>Lan-"sometimes I pick the strangest hills to die on"-efan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7464257, member: 29398"] Where my definition of playing a role is that an actor on a stage plays a role - the lines he speaks, his facial expressions, the movements he makes (subject to the spatial restrictions of the stage) are those of the character he's portraying in the stage play. The actors on stage don't speak in the third person (unless it's a really unusual play; Im sure someone's tried it). Playing the role of a PC at a game table is, IMO, the same thing; and it's where the "role-playing" side of the game comes from. I agree that one can play the game perfectly well while referring to one's character in the third person but I don't see it as meeting the definition of role-playing. Acting is role-playing, by its very definition: an actor plays a role. We can all play [B]the game[/B] in different ways and have fun, but some of those different ways simply don't involve playing a role. "Jocinda will find some way of courteously telling Falstaffe to mind his own business if he asks her about her date last night." If that's how I-as-player describe Jocinda's participation in a conversation then in this instance I'm giving stage directions to a remote game piece. We can all imagine hearing her say something, and the story gets told the same as it otherwise would, but no role actually gets played - Jocinda's "lines", as it were, never get spoken. Compare with LARPing, which almost always involves playing a role in the actor-on-stage sense. Much of the time my play isn't all that awesome. :) I'm just trying to point out that the term "role-playing" doesn't necessarily mean what some might think it means. Lan-"sometimes I pick the strangest hills to die on"-efan [/QUOTE]
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