thread: 2012-03-19 : If it isn't an RPG, is it still an RPG?
On 2012-03-25, David Berg wrote:
It sounds to me like the answer to Matthijs's question, "What's the point of thinking about them as RPGs?" is specific to (a) the designer, (b) what they like about RPGs, and (c) what subset of (b) they wish to include in their games.
Vincent's focus on the necessity of treating fictional stuff as true, and his claim that Werewolf/Mafia counts, are both just his orientation, and everyone else should be expected to have different orientations.
Personally, I think that "needing to treat fictional stuff as true" (rather than optionally doing it) is an enormous barrier to entry. (I'd elaborate, but I'm not sure, is this thread is the place for that?) Alas, like Vincent, I'm rather partial to it.
Funny anecdote: I recently playtested my supervillain RPG Within My Clutches with a handful of inexperienced D&D players. There are a bunch of ways the GM role changes hands, and one of them is that you can pass it off when you're stumped. After the game, one player compared WMC to Whose Line is it Anyway? She's got a point! Calling it "an improv game" might be more useful than calling it "an RPG"!
