There have been many ways to play ‘the game’. Not just different settings and systems. Some flat-out sucked [5e,PF,VtM]. Some were beautiful, but unplayable as long-term. The longest was Traveller Classic Black Empire Strikes Back – 2yr
I’m not saying all have been bad. Online has differed greatly from the FLGS. And IRL suffered during location lockdown. I felt especially poorly from long-covid, lost 2 GMs, and spent most of the time typing and retyping entire modules. Sometimes the people I am contacting online usually have a core behavior already and say, ‘investigation-heavy’.
Maybe there are more ways to weight our experience. I’m imagining the Venn diagram with more than ‘combat’/’roleplay’/’investigate’/’collaborate’ I think I have a better picture of how three [2019 – recent] groups approach this subject material. I guess I’ve met osr battle-mappers, vgamer macabre-checklisters, and drama-therapists in all subject matters (CoC, Mship, DnD).
OSR-sorts that feel very at home with the Lightless Beacon may not appreciate Paper Chase, the Haunting, and Servants of . They all have different pacing. OSRs go for the “shotgun ’em and sort ’em later” approach.
Vgamer-style seems remarkable in the ‘must clear’ a ‘level’, they insist on multiple advantage dice and openly speak of outwitting the GM. [I am absolutely certain they had the module pdf open as they played]
The Dramatists rely on talking-through scenes that were designed for ABC flow-chart choices [d100 fail/pass/success aka skilz], this can be disorienting when they ‘put on a Disguise’ with 0% chances. They know I’m hampered by trying to fail that forward somehow.