Brief personal intro and a vaugely on-topic question

[Treebore]

He wants a personalized answer, not a textbook answer such as "its pretend" or a analytical answer like Psion'. He wants a look into your mind/psyche, not to read another textbook.

So yes, "pretending" is the basis of roleplaying, but is that ALL it is to each of us?

To me roleplaying is at its best when the character you are portraying takes on a life of its own. Saying and making your decisions in the game based on what your character would do which is totally different from what the player would do.

My favorite characters are those with personalities and values very different from "mine", that I have learned to present with little or no effort.

No, I do not have voices in my head, except my own.

So roleplaying to me is better than when it is just pretend, it is best when it comes alive enough to show yourself what you "could have been." Kind of like a glimpse of your alter ego, or one of many possible alter ego's.

That is the best I can describe it right now.

 

[Jack Spencer Jr]

He wants a personalized answer, not a textbook answer such as "its pretend" or a analytical answer like Psion'. He wants a look into your mind/psyche, not to read another textbook.

Thank you. I thought I had communicated that, but apparently not well enough, I guess.

Either that or part of the typical gamer psyche is to have The Correct Answer (tm) or something. I don't know.

No, I do not have voices in my head, except my own.

Yeah. I have multiple personalities, but they are all just me, unfortunately.

 

[Acid_crash]

Q: What is Roleplaying?

A: I have no clue.

more seriously, I think the term Role-playing Games is just a bad term to use for them. I hate the term with a passion.

What is Roleplaying? Pretending to be a role you are not, acting in a make believe world that one person (The GM, Referee, DM, Storyteller, etc) comes up with or uses a published setting book, and determining what this 'character' does based on the situation dictated by the said One person who runs the session.

What is a Roleplaying Game? A subset of rules which helps determine the outcome of said answer to previous question in a hopefully not so chaotic fashion in which to achieve appropriate outcomes to the situations dictated by the One person in charge (who really isn't in 'charge', but more like a guide to the world).

So, is Roleplaying different than Acting? What's the difference, between a much larger paycheck and appearing on screen? Besides script and the fact that the script was written by a single person (usually).

Isn't the real question you might be asking, without realizing it, is What is the purpose of Roleplaying Games?

Q: What is the purpose of a Roleplaying Game?

A: To have fun. (That answer sucks, but it's the basic answer...and also a cop out because there is no real thought to it).

Answer 2: To enjoy a good time with a group of friends (or associates you can at least stand being around)....

Answer 3: To tell a story with these imaginary characters we pretend to be in the ficticious world designed by the One person that's our guide to the world, establishing our characters in the world, and through our interaction with not just the world, but the other Player Characters, the Player Group ends up telling a tale of wonder and excitement through the use of the games mechanics and our imagination.

To me, Answer 3 is best, because that is what we achieve when playing the games...even if it's just a dungoen bash-hack n slash game...there is at least a small story to tell.

Take the underlined words, in this answer, we have ourselves what I think is the appropriate term... Interactive Storytelling Games and not Roleplaying games.

I hope this answer is better than "let's pretend".

 

[der_kluge]

d20 suxxors!

Oh wait... what were we talking about again?


Ok, sorry.

I think for me, role-playing involves being able to escape reality and interact with fictitious people in situations that I'll never be able to involve myself in in the real world.

 

[Nightfall]

Um... no. (You honestly think a lawyer would, as a tendency, put anything that succinctly? )

Not without committing seppuku(sp).

Btw Jack, in answer to your question, try the other guy on the mountain top. Me, I don't have answers. I gave up searching for ultimate "truth" a while ago. All it did was cramp my brain.

 

[Umbran]

As much as I like your definition, I suspect Jack might have been looking for something that would give him some indication of the roleplaying philosophy of Enworld members.

Ah, but you see, then we come back to the point - if he's really asking for the philosophy, he should ask his question, and then look at the answers we do give without reading too far into them. If the questioner stipulates the kind of answer to be given, he inseerts his own bias into the results.

What philosophy does the "let's pretend" answer suggest? My own first guess is that it says we think it is a very broad term with a simple, basic and fairly intuitive meaning. The fact that we tend to stick to that would then suggest that for some reason we collectively feel that it isn't such a good idea to adulterate that answer. We resist attempts to steer us into another answer. We think the definition should be broad and basic.

Now, the question becomes "Why do they think that?"

 

[Jack Spencer Jr]

Answer 3: To tell a story

Interesting. WHat does "story" mean to you?

 

[Kanegrundar]

What is a roleplaying game? Well it's a game in which a group of people play out other characters/aspects of themselves to "drive their foes before them and hear the lamentation of the women!!!"

Seriously though, it's a structured game of pretend (there's that word again!) in which those involved act out a story. It's really as simple as that. As to what is a story? It's an adventure, a mystery, a series of combats, social beguiling, and so forth. An RPG is all for the purpose of the enjoyment of those playing the game (or at least should be). It doesn't matter if you're playing D&D, Nobilis, or cops and robbers, they're all the same game at their core: people pretending to be others to tell a story and enjoy themselves for a time.

Kane

 

[Turjan]

He wants a personalized answer, not a textbook answer such as "its pretend" or a analytical answer like Psion'. He wants a look into your mind/psyche, not to read another textbook.

So yes, "pretending" is the basis of roleplaying, but is that ALL it is to each of us?

To me roleplaying is at its best when the character you are portraying takes on a life of its own. Saying and making your decisions in the game based on what your character would do which is totally different from what the player would do.

My favorite characters are those with personalities and values very different from "mine", that I have learned to present with little or no effort.

No, I do not have voices in my head, except my own.

So roleplaying to me is better than when it is just pretend, it is best when it comes alive enough to show yourself what you "could have been." Kind of like a glimpse of your alter ego, or one of many possible alter ego's.

That is the best I can describe it right now.

But I see this answer as much too limited. For me, roleplaying (as a game) satisfies a wide range of different needs and play styles, and I find it much too restrictive to stick to one alone.

Sometimes it's just the immersion in a kind of atavistic character of black and white morality, with clear definitions of good and evil, who kills foes without much thinking and collects shiny things. Here the story is just the script to deliver excitement and the "character" is just a cliché. This kind of play is pure relaxation from a stressful everyday life.

Then there are these moments where you go shopping and are just centered on your PC; it's a bit Sims-like, and it's not really interactive roleplaying, because it's completely egocentric. This maybe something typical for D&D and is often missing in other roleplaying games, but I like it from time to time.

A third kind of play are those sessions that are more or less only dialogue-driven. The character comes to life with playing on his relations, to other player characters, to his "family", friends, clan, country, organization, belief, and so on. Often, these are the most memorable moments in a campaign, which are remembered even years afterwards.

Of course, the borders between those styles are not fixed. I like all of them .

 

[Acid_crash]

Interesting. WHat does "story" mean to you?

I'm not even gonna try to answer that question. Why? Because I will give an answer, then someone will ask another question. I answer, someone asks another question. It's the very basics of philosophy. Ask enough questions to determine through reason the answer that seems to make the most sense to us.

But...to humor you, I will try to answer at least once.

Q: What does story mean to me?

A: It means to me a level in a building, going up, about ten to twelve feet in height, one level after another, until we get to the roof. The roof is typically the topmost level that encases the levels beneath it, protecting them from elements from the sky.

Answer 2: To tell a systematic narration over the course of a period of time in which a group of characters encounter situations that evolve into one overall feeling that speaks of their actions, the results of their actions, and the aftermath of the situations the characters encounter. (Man, I hate run on sentences).

In other words, to tell a story.

Why try to explain something that is already in it's simplistic terms and thereby make it a whole lot more complicated?