Let's Talk About "Intended Playstyle"

[Xetheral]

What do you think about the topic of "intended playstyle"? Or, "opinionated" games, if you will? What is a good example of a game, in your opinion, that had a strong intended playstyle and managed to support it in its overall design? What ones tried and failed? Is it a worthy design goal? Why, or why not?

Personally, I have a particular playstyle in which I like to run games. Indeed, the appeal of RPGs to me is the appeal of that playstyle.* The utility of a game system to me is thus based on how well it innately supports that playstyle, or how easily it can be repurposed to support that playstyle.

In my experience, games with an intended playstyle and mechanics designed to push play towards that playstyle are harder to repurpose to support my preferences than systems that are designed to be (or unintentionally end up) more flexible. Accordingly, unless/until I happen to come across a system whose intended playstyle happens to match my idiosyncratic preferences, systems either without an intended playstyle or with a very broad or non-enforced intended playstyle are what I gravitate to as a GM.

*As a player I enjoy a somewhat wider range of RPG playstyles then I enjoy running.

 

[Reynard]

Personally, I have a particular playstyle in which I like to run games. Indeed, the appeal of RPGs to me is the appeal of that playstyle.* The utility of a game system to me is thus based on how well it innately supports that playstyle, or how easily it can be repurposed to support that playstyle.

In my experience, games with an intended playstyle and mechanics designed to push play towards that playstyle are harder to repurpose to support my preferences than systems that are designed to be (or unintentionally end up) more flexible. Accordingly, unless/until I happen to come across a system whose intended playstyle happens to match my idiosyncratic preferences, systems either without an intended playstyle or with a very broad or non-enforced intended playstyle are what I gravitate to as a GM.

*As a player I enjoy a somewhat wider range of RPG playstyles then I enjoy running.

Out of curiosity, what is the playstyle you prefer and are there opinionated games that are in the same broad category as your preferences?

 

[Xetheral]

Out of curiosity, what is the playstyle you prefer and are there opinionated games that are in the same broad category as your preferences?

At a very high level my preferred playstyle is for the GM to determine the outcome of most action declarations based on their own judgement (whether that is narrating an automatic success/failure or interpreting the outcome of a die roll). Factors for the GM to consider (and this is just off the top of my head) include plausibility, forseeability, player enjoyment, campaign tone, character ability, and consistency with previously established events and setting lore.

In my preferred playstyle the purpose of the mechanics is to establish a shared understanding of what the characters are capable of, both so that the players can make informed decisions regarding the stakes of potential conflict, and for an increased degree of impartialness during the resolution of conflict. Mechanics that prioritize plausibility and knowable, intuitive outcomes tend to best suit my needs in this regard.

Most systems that rely on the GM for resolution are workable with my preferred style, and that obviously includes many of the big-name systems. The systems that I've tried and read about that are designed to encourage an intended playstyle seem to typically do so by putting constraints on the GM's ability to resolve action declarations, which of course makes perfect sense--it's hard to encourage a preferred playstyle when almost everything is up the GM! Maybe there is a system out there that nevertheless emphasizes my idiosyncratic playstyle, or maybe there will be some day. Until I find one, though, I think the less-prescriptive systems will be a better fit for me.