Gaming philosophy

[ephemeralstability]

I think what we are arguing about is the "threshold" of player character death and the reasons why the character died.

I think this is an interesting idea of yours, Moonhunter, to classify gamers by their views on certain matters. I think a classification based on game-philosophy might also reveal some diverse results.

I'd classify myself as a narrativist: for me, the storyline is the most important thing in the game. Afterwards people must feel like they have just watched a film, or experienced a different life. Therefore the story must be consistent, deep and multilayered, with scope for roleplaying. If the game-mechanics dictate the flow of events then they might disrupt that storyline, so tweaking of die-rolls is entirely acceptable. In fact most decisions can be made without die-rolls.

I know other people are more into realism (letting the dice rule: a character dies in the game just as they might in real life) or other such philosophies. I'd be interested to hear everyone's viewpoints on this.

ephe!

[MoonHunter]

I find myself more of a storyteller, with cinematic influences.  Rules are important and need to be worked with. They keep the game fair and balanced, as well as giving the troupe a common langauge/ frame of reference to resolve issues.  However, to move the game beyond a human moderated videogame, you need to tell a story of some type and length. This engages the players emotionally, as well as intellectually.   Description and maintance of the "beat" of the game are more important to a successful and memorable session than simple tactical/ numeric results.  

An Aside:
I personally find G/N/S as bankrupt theory.  It fails to include all modes of gaming (those that don't conviently fit are quickly swept into one of the above, with a spin to minimize their impact).  An RPG/ campaign/ or gamer has to be a combination of many things, and can not be pigeonholed so easily.

[ephemeralstability]

Excuse my ignorance...G/N/S?

ephe!

[CaptainPenguin]

What does G/N/S mean?

Uh....I'd say I'm just a Gamer: The story and fun-ness of the game are the most important part, rules help the game but can limit to much.

[MoonHunter]

The Forge is a site where serious game designers congregate and hash out design elements and game theory.  (There are some useful posts hidden between all this too.)  It is the home of G/N/S (and luckly the disease has been contained there).    

Narrativist is one of the G/N/S buzzword terms.

Starter: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/1/

GNS at its finest... (cough.. cough)
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=ca071a65d92eb4212cbfba03bc217fb7