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<blockquote data-quote="Gentlegamer" data-source="post: 3664187" data-attributes="member: 2425">The numerous activities involved in playing D&amp;D are each aspects role-playing and taken together, is role-playing (in this context). There is an overarching manner and extent that the participants are interacting with each other that creates an umbrella under which all of their activities in the game is role-playing. Play-acting, role assumption, role immersion, are each aspects of this role-playing activity (but not the whole of it or synonyms for it).Exploration of imagined environments overseen by a game master that can respond to extemporaneous actions by participants is an other aspect of this role-playing activity. Socially interacting with non-player sentient beings being controlled by a game master that can act and react in non-scripted ways, in either first or third person narrative manner, is an aspect of the role-playing activity.This is not exhaustive of the aspects that make up role-playing activity but I think you can see what is meant.I think perhaps the best way to conceptualize this is to consider what Gary has said on several occasions (paraphrase): &quot;the secret of role-playing games is that rules are not necessary.&quot; As long as there is a game master present that can arbitrate actions impartially and interact with the players in extemporaneous, non-scripted ways, that is a role-playing game (this ranges from &quot;play acting&quot; the NPCs, to altering the imagined physical environment of the game world in response to player action). The rules of role-playing games are merely guidelines and tools to assist in arbitrating this game, but is not the game itself.In my opinion, that is why many believe that a role-playing game is played best &quot;when the rules fade into the background.&quot; They are experiencing and expressing the basic minimalism that is sufficient for a role-playing game to take place.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Gentlegamer, post: 3664187, member: 2425"] The numerous activities involved in playing D&D are each aspects role-playing and taken together, [i]is[/i] role-playing (in this context). There is an overarching manner and extent that the participants are interacting with each other that creates an umbrella under which all of their activities in the game is role-playing. Play-acting, role assumption, role immersion, are each aspects of this role-playing activity (but not the whole of it or synonyms for it). Exploration of imagined environments overseen by a game master that can respond to extemporaneous actions by participants is an other aspect of this role-playing activity. Socially interacting with non-player sentient beings being controlled by a game master that can act and react in non-scripted ways, in either first or third person narrative manner, is an aspect of the role-playing activity. This is not exhaustive of the aspects that make up role-playing activity but I think you can see what is meant. I think perhaps the best way to conceptualize this is to consider what Gary has said on several occasions (paraphrase): "the secret of role-playing games is that rules are not necessary." As long as there is a game master present that can arbitrate actions impartially and interact with the players in extemporaneous, non-scripted ways, that is a role-playing game (this ranges from "play acting" the NPCs, to altering the imagined physical environment of the game world in response to player action). The rules of role-playing games are merely guidelines and tools to assist in arbitrating this game, but is not the game itself. In my opinion, that is why many believe that a role-playing game is played best "when the rules fade into the background." They are experiencing and expressing the basic minimalism that is sufficient for a role-playing game to take place. [/QUOTE]

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