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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DrunkonDuty" data-source="post: 4459103" data-attributes="member: 54364">Well I do do the overthink. Guilty, but not repentant. (Oh and by the way: yes I am discussing MY experience and will continue to do so even AFTER the definitive in-depth sociological study of childhood emotional trauma and its effect on the appeal of varying gaming system to style elements gets published. I am making an observation. ie: discussing something I have observed. I did place a caveat at the head of the thread that you could have paid attention to. (This your lot though, I shall indulge in no more flaming.))  LOL. Er, no. Not in my experience either. Werewolf does seem to be the hack'n'slash for WoD. Which is a shame. As I mentioned, in their writing WoD games all encourage a very reflective style of game. One of the points the game developers seem to be making is that all these super powers merely separate you from humanity. It's this isolation that provides the poignancy in the game. And can also encourage the 'might makes right' thing that frequently rears its head. (it's easier to be violent against outsiders.) WoD is indeed a good system in that it can cater to both of these styles. There's 2 themes that are developing for me here. 1: different games appeal to folks looking for a different level of cathartic release. At one end the beer and pretzel game. At the other end the full immersion, tears and screaming. The intensity axis if you will. Now I agree with Danny (above) that any RPG can accomodate role playing. All it takes is a group that wants to play in a certain way and there you go. (Nothing stopping folks playing Toon with the intensity of Cthulu.) But games are made and marketed with a certain appeal in mind. And I think one of these is the level of cathartic release the gamer is looking for. Of course the level of catharsis that any one person wants want will vary (a lot) from one time to another. And I suspect that the games they feel like playing will vary with this. How much it correlates I can't say, I'm sure it's different for everyone.  But for myself: good old DnD is for sitting around with mates who I don't get to see very often, chatting, rolling some dice and generally relaxing in good company. Maybe a few beers. Certainly some bad jokes. Game Intensity level: low.  VtM (OK I haven't played it in years but): More investment in the character and game. I can almost taste the rot in the world's soul. But this is a generalisation even in so far as it refers to my own experience. I've had DnD games that had me screaming 'get it off me! kill it! kill it!' and CoC games where our PCs laughingly loaded up on big guns and went out to kill the monsters (we died but we had many laughs on the way.) 2. Games that more closely represent the real world have more appeal for the full immersion style of game. A feeling that gets expressed a lot here on Enworld is: It's easier to immerse in a game world that is much more detailed. Something I certainly believe. Therefore those games that allow us to assume a lot real world into them are much easier to immerse in because they are so much more detailed. And maybe, because we are able to bring so much of our real life experience into them, maybe some unexpected things get packed in the baggage? Danny: I think you bring up a good point about the group having it's own role in encouraging different styles. The peer pressure axis? Thanks for the responses. Very much helping to clarify my mind. Once again I must away to my place of employment. (ah well, at least they pay me for it.)</blockquote>

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