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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aenghus" data-source="post: 7367844" data-attributes="member: 2656">RPG groups with different goals are probably going to use different systems and mixes of technique to attempt to achieve them.The analogy I find useful here is that detailed gameworlds with heavy worldbuilding are in some ways analogous to accurate historical drama, historical recreations or documentaries, except with a different world. IMO the more work players have to do to learn the world, the less accessible it is. The traditional alternative is for the players to learn the world bit by bit over time, whether that's one long sprawing campaign or a series of shorter campaigns and games. Whereas player-focused games are more analogous to drama and soap opera, with focus on personal goals and interpersonal drama, with the setting being a more-or-less malleable backdrop that exists to facilitate the drama. There are even jokes about this re daytime soaps, wobbly sets, and convoluted plots. The backdrop doesn't matter as much in such shows as the focus is on the drama and characters, not the setting.Disclaimer: Analogies are dangerous as they are imperfect and can be distracting, but still I think they can be useful so long as everyone remembers they are just analogies and not the actual thing. There are lots of other elements which modify a RPG - Humorous or serious, slow-paced or fast-paced, naturalistic or interesting times, tone, genre, consistency, session length,  campaign length etc etc.On a personal note, I have been a player in a number of games where I was given referee assurances that my PC backstory would be relevant, and it never turned out to be. (And other games  where it was). This could be because the game ended too soon, the game moved in a different direction, dice-rolls failed in game or the referee never made it possible.Now in some cases I wasn't invested hugely in the PC backstory so it was fine, but there were cases where I wanted to explore something with the PC and I was annoyed when it never happened. Most older RPGs don't have formal ways for players to make requests with teeth.</blockquote>

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