RPG and design, III - Crunch IS Fluff (excavators can't jump!)

RPG and design series so far:

* I - Vocabulary; Manual x Encyclopedia
* II - Crunch x Fluff
* III - Crunch IS Fluff (excavators can't jump!)
* IV - Theme, Mechanics, and Narrative
* V - Incongruous and dissociated mechanics
* VI - Unproductive fluff (and crunch)
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Now that we've talked about crunch x fluff, it's time to consider one of the essential characteristics of RPGs. Maybe the most important one.

I'll explain that with a little tale...

Once upon a time, there was this young child who got a big book of mazes as a gift.

It was fun!

Here is one example:

But the kid had a hard time solving some mazes.

And some solutions were... well, unorthodox:

The kid didn't hesitate to take these unexpected paths. The explanation came immediately and naturally: "I think the penguin needs to make a small jump here... and here... and a big jump here".

There were no similar thoughts when solving puzzle #1. After all, excavators can't jump!

And this difference between puzzles #1 and #2 is what defines RPGs.

An adult would look at both puzzles and realize that the "fluff" is unimportant when solving the puzzle. Penguins and excavators are just a "coat of paint" over the actual game: find a path that doesn't crosses walls (or jumps over holes). The adult might even protest: "the solution given above is not even thinking outside of the box, it is downright breaking the rules of the game".

And, if you are an adult solving these kinds of puzzles, you'd be right.

However, RPGs are the opposite: if your character finds a hole in the dungeon, he can (try to) jump over it, even if there is no "jumping" skill in the game.

In a role-playing game, a chasm is never exactly like a wall.

In other words:

What defines role-playing games is that the fluff is always important to the crunch, and vice-versa.

Compare it to chess, for example.

What if you role-play your bishop as he jumps the enemy's queen, loudly denouncing her sins in the name of Pelor? Is it a role-playing game now?

No, because the fluff has no effect on the crunch.

That is also why some people used to say 4e is "not D&D"*: sometimes, the crunch is ortogonal to the fluff and vice-versa, which is a bit antithetical to RPGs. Tripping oozes isn't a given for most RPGs.

(*I do think D&D 4e is both D&D and an RPG, of course, but I dislike some of the ideas that 4e adopts, as the ones explained just above).

Coincidentally or not (probably not), the name we chose for our hobby exemplifies this idea.

Role-playing games require BOTH role-playing AND games IN COORDINATION.

Let's go back to the chess example, above; it is not a RPG because, even if you're doing both "at the same time", the are disconnected; one doesn't affect the other.

Likewise, if you gather a group of theater actors to make improvisation, it isn't a RPG because there is no game.

It is also easy to see that there is a strong link between "role-playing" and fluff, and also between "game" and crunch.

Of course, you could create a "role-playing game" that has nothing to do with traditional RPGs. For example, if no one can use the word "yes" (or lose 10 points) in this theather-improv-thing, it becomes a game. But that is not what I'm talking about here.

Traditional RPGs have other distinguishing characteristics. For example, having a GM distinguished form the players - the GM will take care of most of the "game" to give players more space to "role-play" (GMs will do RP and fluff too, of course). Or using dice. But there are RPGs without GMs or dice, and these are still RPGs.

Most traditional RPGs involve playing from the perspective of your character, instead of using your perspective as a player ("I know it would benefit our goals, but my character wouldn't do that!").

Notice that you can spend HOURS role-playing without reference to the mechanics. However, the mechanics are always ready; if negotiations fail and you must punch your adversary, you know exactly what kind of dice to roll. Again, these things don't have to be simultaneous, only coordinated.

It is hard to pin down exactly what separates traditional RPGs from live-action "murder mystery dinners", for example... And these are somewhat similar to LARPs. One important thing is probably that RPGs have specific mechanics to help you decide what a a character can or can't do. Level 3 fighter, Strength 15, Agility 12... Improv theater has nothing like that.

Well, enough for this post. Let me know what you think in the comments.

My next subject is probably some fluff-crunch failures or page layout and "form x function".