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Well, if we're continuing with Mexican soap operas example, real world doesn't abide the genre conventions, and real people don't act like characters on daytime television. Or speak in one-liners like action heroes. Or whatever else. Because real world is real world and not a story, and real...

Probably no, given that knowledge and ability to effectively relay that knowledge are two very different things. And given how I can just look at the playbook and the basic moves if I don't know what action would be genre-appropriate, without bothering anyone.

Yeah, but reading a book takes an evening at worst, reading my playbook is barely five minutes, and watching even a single TV series is a couple of dozens hours at the low end.

...genre as in genre of the story. What you can or cannot do and what kind of character you can or cannot create in a slasher flick is very different from a game that tries to capture the feeling of a Hong Kong action cinema. The consequences of the same action would also be different.

I'm yet to see a SR fan whose opinion on it isn't "Man, this game sucks, but I love it".

No number of sessions zero can make someone who doesn't understand the genre familiar with it enough to play it. I know only two things about mexican soap operas: jack and s##t. I can still play Pasión de las Pasiones just fine.

It's playable, yes. But it requires greater trust in people you're playing with, that they actually know and understand the genre and the setting, and, more importantly, that their knowledge and understanding is synchronized with yours. Freeform roleplaying lives on self-restraints, because the...

I really like Bakers' writing style and I'm a fangirl, so, obviously I'll recommend Apocalypse World. I'll also recommend Veins of the Earth, that's probably the best piece of RPG writing I've ever read. Also doubles as the most beatiful artbook I have, but that's secondary.

Just to be clear, I'm not and don't want to be some kind of ambassador of this side of the Berlin wall, regardless of how much I love to attention whore by underscoring that I'm not american nor european. Just like EnWorld is but a subset of larger English-speaking community, my circles aren't...

I think it describes the goals of play more than it describes the system used, and while different systems enable certain goals better or worse, what you're trying to achieve I think is more important than what tool you're using. I refer to systems because a) I dropped the ball a bit here and...

My biggest gripe with fiction inserts is that they could've been used to actually illustrate the game. Like, switch between the table, how the players roll stuff, smirk, spill beer over the book and describe their actions, and the game world, where characters swing swords and whatever.

Failure is almost meaningless in Souls games, though. I see "YOU DIED" screen in Dark Souls much more often then I reload my save in Silent Hill 2, but the former is like "oh, okay, I'll try something different then" and the latter makes me want to punch a hole through my screen.

As of trad vs. new school. First, yeah, just like @Ovinomancer said, check out the Eastern taxonomy. What is called "mid-school" within it, encapsulates both trad and neo-trad playstyles, well, as far as I understand those two labels. Second, yes, it is possible to collaboratively create an...

Well, yeah, GM can be ditched, and it isn't uncommon to not have one. Having one, though, can be beneficial, as playing a main character is kinda big deal that requires a lot of effort and attention -- they're on screen for long periods of time, after all, and need to be rock solid. So, person...

I mean, it's obvious, the point of roleplaying is to take hot skinny goth guys home after the session. They keep getting older, tho...

Because it's cool? And because actions of Rob's character will inevitably cause ripples and affect your character? Rob the Gunlugger asks the GM for a gig to earn some quick buck, she smiles and tells him that the local warlord wants to, khm, "persuade" one particular guy to join his gang. The...

Does it matter? 80s-early 90s hip-hop was also a chaotic mess, yet it's possible to productively discuss old-school hip-hop. I didn't come up with the labels. You're welcome to hunt down whoever come up with them first (you can start with Ivan Devyatko at the Eastern Lands blog, but he...

In my experience (yeah, limited, I'm but one woman, but still), the only people who struggle with partyless games and other non-D&D-esque things aren't actually new players, but those who have played D&D or other old- or midschool games and now expect everything to be exactly the same. Fresh...

... So, the same thing I described?

Or, hear me out, have a table full of players who are really interested in seeing characters they like struggle and change, and sometimes interject when they have a great idea. If I come to play (or run, it doesn't really matter that much) a character-driven game, it's because I like the...