hawkeyefan
Legend
So, I think that the "role play" and the "game" come from the word itself. You are engaging in a "Role Playing" "Game."
And while I used some fancy language (the diegetic framework, to distinguish the game world from the real world), that's really what it's getting at.
It's how we know that everything from D&D to Amber to Fiasco to BiTD are RPGs, while Monopoly (no role playing) and Community Theater (no game) are not RPGs.
....to a certain extent, however, we begin to get into trouble when we start to think about the different categories of RPGs that we have now.
For the most part, we've been considering the traditional RPGs- TTRPGS and live action RPGs.
What about CRPGs (computer)? Do we concern ourselves with the difference between single-player and MMORPGs?
Then there are systemless examples of RPGs that I have read about (but never played). Amber, while diceless, is not systemless, but there are variations of systemless RPGs that are played (both TTRPGs and LARPs); to the extent you would say that they have rules, they tend to be informal rules and/or heuristics of the adjudicators.
That's why I often think it's more helpful to discuss what can be used in a specific RPG, than in all RPGs in general (or, at least, break it down to a category like, "TTRPGs with formal rules").
I figured to start as broad as possible and then narrow it down as we go.
I do think there's a difference in CRPGs in that the role you play is largely chosen for you, or consists primarily of mechanical and cosmetic combinations, and not a whole lot in the way of role. Obviously, there's nothing to stop people from adopting a more in character approach to an MMO, let's say, and remaining in character throughout play, and with using the game solely as a vehicle for social interaction.....but I think that tends to be the exception more than the rule. I could be wrong, of course, and there could be MMOs that are entirely social.
So, yes, I was thinking mostly of tabletop games, although I was trying to keep LARP and similar iterations in mind as well.
