Creation of Narrative in Tabletop Role-Playing Games - Jennifer Grouling Cover [105]
Several taxonomies are currently used by gamers to explain the differences in styles of play. In fact, it is a common topic on gaming forums to form theories that explain the different styles of play. One of the most common theories is the Threefold Model that came from a series of online discussions. In July 1997, Mary Kuhner came up with the term the “threefold model” to explain the model that emerged from the rec.games. frp. advocacy forum in the mid–1990s (Kim, 2008). John Kim offers an explanation of this model on the www.darkshire.net website, last updated in 2008.5 The model suggests three types of game play—the dramatist, the simulationist, and the gamist. A dramatist is someone who is primarily interested in a good story and the forward progression of a narrative. A simulationist is most concerned with a realistic story, where characters act in a way that makes sense within the framework of the storyworld. The primary difference between these two types of players is that the dramatist will use whatever rules or character building tools are available through the game in order to create a better story, whereas a simulationist will prefer to make decisions based solely on the reality of the storyworld, pretending to ignore the game world completely. A gamist, on the other hand, will be most interested in meeting challenges in the game, whether those are puzzles to solve or combats to win (Kim, 1998). This model has become popular, and in fact, there is a wealth of “RPG theory” such as this, written by gamers and game designers that is available freely online on websites such as www.darshire.net or www.rpg.net.
Dancey’s (2000) market survey uses a similar model for looking at different gaming styles. By asking gamers to rate a series of qualities on a 1–5 scale, Wizards of the Coast developed a model that divides gamers into four categories: the character actor, the storyteller, the thinker, and the power gamer (see figure 4). Game designer Sean K. Reynolds reported on this model on his website in 2003, and explains the gamer types as follows.
Character actors enjoy the theatrical aspects of the game and making decisions that are fitting for the way they think their character would actually behave. Thus, character actors seem most analogous to simulationists in the threefold model. Storytellers are most concerned about the progression of the narrative and what will happen next. They initially seem similar to the dramatists of the threefold model, but Reynolds (2003) explains that they “will look for a non-rules answer to inconsistencies or anachronisms in the game experience,” thus, there is still an aspect of simulationist here. The thinker may like to find clues in the game or the best ways to maximize their character, making heavy use of sourcebooks. Finally, the power gamer prefers a combat-oriented style and usually plays a character to whom they have little attachment. Thinkers and power gamers come closest to the gamist perspective, both drawing heavily on the challenging aspects of game play rather than the narrative aspects of the story and characters. Dancey’s (2000) market survey showed the market fairly evenly divided among these game types, with approximately 22 percent in each category and another 12 percent falling somewhere in the middle (as cited in Reynolds, 2003).
With these different gaming styles, it is tempting to say that the TRPG no longer represents one genre, but has splintered into multiple genres based on different gaming styles. However, I am hesitant to draw this conclusion because my research shows that the majority of participants still give the same general reasons for playing TRPGs.