Role-playing games are about role-playing

I often start with an opinion I disagree with. I regret this because it always makes me seem like the 'bad boy' who is against everything and everyone. To be honest, I believe this has become a general issue with social networks, but I won't delve further into that here.

The opinion in question is from James Maliszewski, who agrees with what Ben Milton expresses in one of his videos. I know it's not wise to disagree with influencers of this caliber, but this is my perspective. There's no need to introduce the topic; the title of James's post is enough: "Roleplaying games aren't about roleplaying". Useless to say, I encourage the reader to read both James's post and Ben's video (included in the post).

It's obvious that semantics play a significant role in this discussion, and behind it, there can be enormous misunderstandings. However, I am convinced of one thing: "role-playing games are about role-playing". There are many ways to interpret a character. I don't want to play the professor, but thinking that interpretation in an RPG is limited to simulating a character's voice is, to say the least, restrictive. The same goes for using the first person instead of the third person in dialogues: these details are technicalities. They are certainly not the details that make me understand if I am interpreting a character. If that were the case, anyone could play Batman in Nolan's trilogy as long as they use a gruff voice when wearing the mask... but that's not what I mean by interpretation.

My point of view applies to both PCs and NPCs: it applies to players when they have to interpret their character and also to the GM when they have to interpret all the NPCs that have a sense in the plot. My perspective is that interpretation is the result of an "in your shoes" simulation of the character in question so that any reaction, gesture, or action is consistent with the way that character acts and thinks (and not the player!). If a player is stingy in real life while their PC is a generous paladin, the player must make the effort to imagine what it means to be generous. This can be done regardless of whether they change their voice or use the first person in dialogues.

The topic seems superficial and related to form, but in reality, it is something of substance: using an RPG, it is possible to learn what it means to make choices consistent with principles (I know: we are always in the field of interpreting a fictional character, but there is a very deep educational purpose in this, in my opinion). This is especially true for younger people, so they can use the fun derived from a game to learn that a value is something that goes beyond any circumstantial consideration and must always be at the center of a person's decisions, whether it's a PC or a real person. That's why I feel compelled to write these words, even if I know I'm going against James and Ben. Role-play is definitely an important thing, and through RPGs, one can learn to make choices consistent with their values (even if we are talking about PCs). For this reason, I want to make it known that the presence of role-play in RPGs should not be diminished... In a previous post (perhaps more than one), I recommended reading "The Abolition of Man" by C.S. Lewis: if you had followed my advice, everything would be clearer to you now! Otherwise, please read that book!