Imaro
Legend
I think we are confusing things because we are talking about abstract general concepts and using them as proxies to fight over specifics. What I am pushing back against is the idea put out there that GMs should engage in a style of narration that is flavorful and literary in nature. I much prefer a more conversational style that isn't consciously performative. That doesn't mean I list off bullet points. It means I am fairly concise, not particularly emotive like an actor would be, and that I am talking to my players like I talk to my friends. I see it much more as a conversation like Permerton does. The impression I am getting from posters like Hussar is they value things like the GM speaking in voices, using evocative words to paint a picture and atmosphere, etc. I am not into that as a player or as a GM. I will give a brief description of what is there, then say "What do you want to do". If an NPC is talking, I speak as the character. But I am not shifting voices or performing.
But this is arguing over degrees... the point is it's still there even in your gameplay example above when you speak as the NPC... you're literally just saying you only want X amount while [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION] wants Y amount which is fine, but it's still there in both games which is why I feel it is core. Unless you can totally excise something out without loosing quality in your gameplay... I feel it is core.
I would say my style is laid back and it isn't too concerned about peoples' performances. My main interest is whether I am having fun and people are engaged with what is going on in the game. I am what I call a 'roll off the couch and play GM'. I don't look at each session as a big production. It is just a game session and I keep my expectations as both a player and a GM fairly realistic and appropriate to that. One of my pet peeves as a player is other players who are overly critical or have super high expectations of play. I just don't like this idea of judging other peoples performance at the table like that. I am not there to be awed by your dwarven accent.
We aren't talking about judging anything... performance & presentation in and of itself is subjective. My only point is that it is core to the game, even if only done minimally it is still done by the majority if not all groups.
I have podcast recordings of my sessions. I would be happy to share them with you or with Pemerton by PM. But I would honestly rather not post them here given the level of heat that has arisen in this discussion.
That's cool if you feel like sharing I'd be interested in listening to them but I feel like I couldn't really discuss them here so there may not be a point at least as far as this thread is concerned.