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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 7346339" data-attributes="member: 82106">Yeah, I think it is fair to say that each style of play includes and excludes some sorts of games. In a game run by [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] its not likely that the PCs will spend a lot of time futzing around, wandering the countryside trying to find something to do, or just watching the world go by. OTOH they won't likely see their successes undone and they likely will find that the game focuses on their backstory elements and whatever deeds they seem to be intent on. In a more 'classic sandbox' sort of game that wouldn't be true. There the game might end up with a focus on the player's interests because THEY would move to some point of interest to them.In the end I almost think that each style of play, if well-executed, leads to some interesting focus of play by different paths, which seems to me to be what you're getting at. In [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION]'s game the whole thing is ABOUT the PCs, the game will always revolve around them and bring action to them. In some other game, maybe [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION]'s, the characters will have to track down or systematically initiate what they're interested in, and then clearly that will be a focus. There's still the issue of how direct the focus on player interests is. IMHO in the older classic process there were a LOT of possible ways things would often go off the rails. It really is hard to avoid the GM driving play. Most mediocre DMs will end up doing that to one extent or another. OTOH if you follow a narrativist/story telling kind of process, like Pemerton's scene-framing approach, you'd be at least focused on the PCs, and they would be relating to the player's interests directly. It could still be done badly, and I guess one question is which is really the easier process to execute? I don't really know an answer to that, except it would be best in each case to have a system where that process is made very explicit. D&D never did that really well.</blockquote>

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