2. Today
Four Definitions of RPG
Tests, arguments, discussions, bargaining
A definition emerges
Stress testing

3. From Archmage at RPGfan.com
An RPG must:
1) Have a statistical setup that describes
certain aspects of the character
2) Some method of increasing those statistics
3) Menu driven combat system that uses those
stats

4. Test it on:

5. Vince at Iron Tower
“Playing a role in the CRPG context
means making decisions fitting
your character.”

6. Test it on:

7. The Angry DM
“You are presented with a situation and you (the player) decide
how your character reacts to the situation. The action is
resolved, creating a new situation, and then you start over. The
point is that almost all RP occurs inside the heads of the various
players. The act of visualizing the situation, understanding the
character, and deciding on an appropriate course of acting is
90% of role-playing. The remaining 10% is about presenting that
decision to the other participants. And honestly, if you want to
get meta about it, that last 10% is more about helping others
role-play than about your own RP. ”

8. Test it on:

9. Andrew Rilstone
“A role-playing game is a formalized verbal
interaction between a referee and a player or
players, with the intention of producing a
narrative. This interaction is such that the
fictional character (controlled by the player) has
complete or nearly complete freedom of choice
within the fictional world (controlled by the
referee).”

10. Test it on:

11. And now…
Group up with anyone you’d like (teams, pairs,
new teams… whoever you’d like to work with.
No more than 5 per group). Write up your
definition of an RPG.
Then you must stress test it against the six
games on the next slide.

13. For Monday
There is a collection of readings listed on
the schedule (check there for links). We will
discuss, very quickly, the history of video
games.