The-Magic-Sword
Small Ball Archmage
I've actually been thinking about something related for a while-- essentially that the arguments about DND in terms of competition generally fail to consider indirect competition, namely the concept of testing. The goal of DND is usually to prevail not over the other participants who are trying their damndest to beat you, but over challenges created deliberately as solvable tests of skill, knowledge, cunning or other desirable (at least in a play sense) qualities. Video Games tend to be the same way, a boss monster is literally made to be beaten, the joy in beating them is in the process of solving the problem, and the self satisfaction of improvement-- even while the presence of that process contextualizes other elements of play that are more sensory. It's also the alignment of character goal and player goal allowing you to enjoy their victories by proxy in the context of narrative.
