Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Defining TTRPGs and the the International Roguelike Development Conference's "Berlin Interpretation"
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="DrunkonDuty" data-source="post: 8454457" data-attributes="member: 54364"><p>So to the original question: what are qualities of an RPG.</p><p></p><p>The way I see it there are two main operatives in the term RPG. Role and Play. Game is redundant, play implies a game (and vice versa.) </p><p></p><p>This leads me to the following definition:</p><p>One or more players take on a role and play with it in a fictional setting. (I think a fictional setting is inherent to the nature of play.)</p><p></p><p>To this you can add, well, almost anything:</p><p></p><p>Playing pieces.</p><p></p><p>Playing boards for those pieces.</p><p></p><p>Stats. Which is to say mathematical models that model aspects of the play space that can be used to interact with other models within the play space.</p><p></p><p>Rules that govern the types of interactions available within the play space and how those interactions are carried out. </p><p></p><p>Rules that define the diegetic limits of the play space. By which I mean game worlds and the "physics" by which they operate.</p><p></p><p>Rewards systems.</p><p></p><p>Randomisers. Dice, coins, random number generators, the I-Ching. Used to add or heighten already existing dramatic tension.</p><p></p><p>A defined end to the play. Win/Loss states. The end of a series of events/scenes/tactical decisions/story elements. </p><p></p><p>Adjudicators. </p><p></p><p>A player in a position of official opposition. By which I mean the traditional GM. Someone who's role is to provide drama. This position can be given to different players at different times. This position is granted by some non-diegetic consideration, eg. the rules.</p><p></p><p>Players taking oppositional roles (on a temporary basis?) as suggested by diegetic concerns. Can range from the very simple "You killed me with a fireball. My next character is going to kill you!" to designing characters with the intent that they shall provide one another with dramatic tension.</p><p></p><p>Art.</p><p></p><p>Costumes.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Beyond things that can define the actual play we can get into things like fandoms and such forth. The social aspects of it. But that's probably getting off base.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Aside: I also think that aspects of playing a role can be (easily) imported into other games. In post #14 Endroren mentions playing traditional board and war games from within assumed roles. I've done the same with <em>Diplomacy</em> and <em>Empires in Arms</em>.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DrunkonDuty, post: 8454457, member: 54364"] So to the original question: what are qualities of an RPG. The way I see it there are two main operatives in the term RPG. Role and Play. Game is redundant, play implies a game (and vice versa.) This leads me to the following definition: One or more players take on a role and play with it in a fictional setting. (I think a fictional setting is inherent to the nature of play.) To this you can add, well, almost anything: Playing pieces. Playing boards for those pieces. Stats. Which is to say mathematical models that model aspects of the play space that can be used to interact with other models within the play space. Rules that govern the types of interactions available within the play space and how those interactions are carried out. Rules that define the diegetic limits of the play space. By which I mean game worlds and the "physics" by which they operate. Rewards systems. Randomisers. Dice, coins, random number generators, the I-Ching. Used to add or heighten already existing dramatic tension. A defined end to the play. Win/Loss states. The end of a series of events/scenes/tactical decisions/story elements. Adjudicators. A player in a position of official opposition. By which I mean the traditional GM. Someone who's role is to provide drama. This position can be given to different players at different times. This position is granted by some non-diegetic consideration, eg. the rules. Players taking oppositional roles (on a temporary basis?) as suggested by diegetic concerns. Can range from the very simple "You killed me with a fireball. My next character is going to kill you!" to designing characters with the intent that they shall provide one another with dramatic tension. Art. Costumes. Beyond things that can define the actual play we can get into things like fandoms and such forth. The social aspects of it. But that's probably getting off base. Aside: I also think that aspects of playing a role can be (easily) imported into other games. In post #14 Endroren mentions playing traditional board and war games from within assumed roles. I've done the same with [I]Diplomacy[/I] and [I]Empires in Arms[/I]. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Defining TTRPGs and the the International Roguelike Development Conference's "Berlin Interpretation"
Top