Wargames & Role-Playing

A role-playing game (RPG, often roleplaying game) is a type of game in which the participants assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create or follow stories. more...

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Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, they may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.

A role-playing game rarely has winners or losers. This makes role-playing games fundamentally different from board games, card games, sports and most other types of games. Like novels or films, roleplaying games appeal because they engage the imagination. Role-playing games are typically more collaborative and social than competitive. A typical role-playing game unites its participants into a single team, known as a "party", that plays as a group.

Most role-playing games are conducted like radio drama: only the spoken component is acted, and players step out of character to describe action and discuss game mechanics. The genre of role-playing games in which players do perform their characters' physical actions is known as live-action roleplaying games (LARP).

Computer games incorporating settings and game mechanics found in roleplaying games are referred to as computer role-playing games, or CRPGs. Due to the popularity of CRPGs, the terms "role-playing game" and "RPG" have both to some degree been co-opted by the computer gaming industry; as a result, traditional non-digital pastimes of this sort are increasingly being referred to as "pen and paper" or "tabletop" role-playing games, though neither pen and paper nor a table are strictly necessary.

Concept

At their core, roleplaying games are a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling. Simple forms of roleplaying exist in traditional children's games such as "cops and robbers", "cowboys and Indians" and "playing house". Roleplaying games add a level of sophistication to this basic idea; unlike a child who just wants to feel like a cowboy for a few minutes, a group of adults in roleplaying game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and realistic setting in games aids suspension of disbelief. The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge to full-blown simulations of real-world processes.

Role-playing games are rarely played to "win". The goal for many RPGs is to reproduce the enjoyment of a film or a novel. Like serials or novel sequences, these episodic games are often played in weekly sessions over a period of months or even years, although some gamers prefer playing one session games. Some find other reasons to play. According to Andrew Rilstone, the purpose of role-playing games is to create stories; whereas according to Tracy Hickman, roleplaying is an exploration of ethical choice.

Read more at Wikipedia.org