Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 9783030" data-attributes="member: 6667921">[USER=7808]@Deset Gled[/USER]I’m honestly not sure where all the hostility is coming from. I’m not raging against anything or trying to manufacture controversy. I’m just exploring how expectations around roleplaying games formed and evolved, and how that affects what players bring to the table—literally and figuratively.The repeated comparisons to things like “video games” or “sports” miss the distinction I’m talking about. Those terms describe mediums—they’re defined by form and delivery. A video game is a digital medium; a sport is an athletic contest. You know what you’re getting just by the word alone. “Roleplaying game,” on the other hand, describes a mode of play—not a format or medium. That’s why it’s such a broad and interpretive category. It can be collaborative storytelling, tactical combat, or character-driven drama, and all of those are valid.That’s what makes the discussion interesting to me: how we, as players, navigate that spectrum of experience and expectation. I’m not trying to redefine the hobby or lecture anyone about what’s right or wrong. I’m just pointing out that our comfort with ambiguity—and the dominance of certain systems—shapes what most people expect when they hear the word “RPG.” If that’s not worth thinking about, then what are we even discussing?Just because you’re angry about what I wrote doesn’t mean it was written to provoke you. Only one of us seems intent on turning a discussion into a fight. I’m not here to spar or posture; I started a discussion meant for thoughtful engagement, not mockery. If the best response you can offer is a meme or a punchline, then you’re proving my point about how shallow most discourse has become. When you’re ready to actually talk about the ideas instead of the people sharing them, I’ll be here for that conversation. Otherwise, there’s really nothing more for me to engage with.</blockquote>

Verification