Telling a Story vs. Having Fun

[Merkuri]

Fun comes first. If the story is interfering with the fun it gets changed or dropped. If the fun interferes with the story, nobody cares as much (except maybe the DM who wrote said story, but if they're a good DM they'll be willing to let go).

I've had some experience with products set in the World of Darkness, and I could see how someone could get the idea that the story is the most important thing. I mean, their game master is called the Storyteller. I think, though, that if anyone sits down and thinks about it long enough they come back 9 times out of 10 and say the fun is the most important part. After all, would you spend hours a month doing something voluntarily that's no fun? Not unless you're getting paid or it's something you HAVE to do (like housework or paying bills). I don't know too many people who get paid to play D&D, but if such a job exists, I want it!!

 

[Illirion]

I totally agree with the OP!

I don't know what I should vote in the poll to make that clear though.
I voted fun anyways cause I think that's the most determining factor in a good campaign/session/rpg-experience.

Story's are fun, but fun is not purely defined by a good story IMHO.

 

[Seeker95]

Any game is *about* having fun.
RPGs accomplish this through a story.

 

[Jedi_Solo]

I voted "fun" but if there had been a "both" or "Yes" or "All of the above" I would have voted that way.

With RPGs 'Fun' is the destination. The story is the vehicle used to get to the destination.

 

[Old_Man_Fish]

Definately a loaded question. I DM, for me it's about the story. For my players it's about the fun, if they aren't having fun, it's now about a SHINY NEW STORY....

rinse and repeat until the story is able to provide the fun.

 

[fusangite]

What's this "or" doing in your poll?

Obviously, people who think RPGs are storytelling exercises think so because they find the storyteller model fun. People who don't find this model play RPGs a different way.

I'm glad I wasn't at this barbecue because it sounds like both you and the White Wolf fan need to get a little perspective on the fact that there is more than one way to enjoy an RPG.

 

[fusangite]

Any game is *about* having fun.
RPGs accomplish this through a story.

Actually, RPGs accomplish this a bunch of different ways, only some of which are story-focused. Furthermore, the White Wolf fan's definition of "story" is clearly not the Forge's definition of "story"; the White Wolf fan's definition of "story" sounds almost exactly like my definition of railroading -- and I'm a relatively story-oriented GM.

 

[LostSoul]

Hmm...

I'm looking at it this way. Did I have fun watching Requiem For a Dream? No, not really. Was the experience worthwhile? Yes.

So if the game wasn't fun, but I got that same kind of charged emotional experience from the group's authoring of the story, would I still consider that experience valuable? Yeah, I think I would.

 

[Umbran]

Is it really about fun, or is it about the overall story?

This is a false dichotomy. The two are not mutually exclusive. If the overall story is fun for the players, the two become one and the same.

That being said, telling stories is not the only reasonable use of the rules. Claims that RPGs are in general about anything in particular neglect the basic fact that different people can play for different reasons.

 

[the Jester]

Both, but fun takes priority.

IMHO, of course.