So, I'm helping a friend with getting her kids talked about into RPGs and we have talked about them a lot. She plays in another friend's AD&D game, so that is her base familiarity with RPGs. She asks a lot of interesting questions that have made me think.

One of the first was, "What is the goal of a roleplaying game?"

My response was, "To have fun."

What responses would you have given?

Play a character of your imagining, in a world of the GM's imagining, doing interesting and adventurous things to see what happens.

To act out and make decisions like a person in a movie, but a movie of the group's imagination.

To marry the princess or the prince, defeat the dragon, win the tournament, discover the bad guy behind the mask, solve the mystery, stop the disaster, exorcise the demon, build a kingdom, tame the wild-lands, start a cult, fight the gods, explore strange new worlds, or really anything that strikes your fancy.

Basically, to have fun. :-)

No different than yours, Jeff.

In the large boffer fantasy LARP I was in for many years, the very first thing said at the ritualistic Reading of the Rules which began each and every event was "We should all be doing this to have fun."

That's the first and foremost goal, and it should be for every gamer.  If it's not fun, then something's badly wrong.

The problem with the idea that an RPG is supposed to be fun is, that, as an answer is so incredibly obvious and generic that it doesn't actually answer that much. Of course it is supposed to be fun. There is no point to argue about that. But: what is actually fun in a game is an essentially subjective term, and a very vague one, too. For me, a statement like this is not a satisfying answer and basically requires a follow-up question (e.g. "How do you achieve thatan RPG is fun?") so for me at least it is a lot more poignant to directly mention the various elements which are enjoyable for me in an RPG (meeting friends, playing a role, experiencing adventures, worlds and stories, interacting with other characters, explore exotic or spooky locations, influence the events in the game, make meaningful decisions, face chalenges and adversity without direly negative consequences for failure and so on).

Fun?
Um, it might be something lost in translation, but I tend to define "fun" as something more to the funny definition, and I would not call the tension during a battle or other decisive actions to be "funny".

I would clearly admit to it being entertaining, though.

Are you sure the question was not intended as "What are the victory conditions in the roleplaying game" rather than "Why do people play roleplaying games"? I mean if someone were to ask what is the goal of basketball I'd say it's to score more baskets than the opposition. People may do it for fun, for money or to stay fit, but the goal of the game is to score points.

All of which is particularly pertinent because absence of a clear, unambiguous and universal set of victory conditions could be said to a defining trait of roleplaying games. Sure individual characters many have one or more goals or varying  which might drift over time, some of which might never be achieved, but that is different from saying the game has a goal.

"To see your enemies driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their [significant others]."

This is something that I have tackled in my game design lectures.

RPGs are a special case of games in that they do not have a clear victory condition as a game end. They do have loss conditions (total party kill and also player team can give up pursuing the adventure).

However, RPGs do have goals which usually revolve around intended goal of the player group in the setting. For instance in Call of Cthulhu the goal is to prevent total annihilation of Earth by monstrous beings. In Warhammer 40000 it is to participate in a war of annihilation against enemies of Imperium of Man. Other games may have less ambitious or less stark contrasts. For example cyberpunk games are essentially about surviving and thriving and even changing a dystopian society.

Tip to game designers: You will always get these kinds of questions if you do not think beforehand what the goals of your game are and make them clear to players. A good place to do that is in introduction so players know what to do before they start making their characters. The goal should also tie to your theme.

Quote from: jeff37923;805267So, I'm helping a friend with getting her kids talked about into RPGs and we have talked about them a lot. She plays in another friend's AD&D game, so that is her base familiarity with RPGs. She asks a lot of interesting questions that have made me think.

One of the first was, "What is the goal of a roleplaying game?"

My response was, "To have fun."

What responses would you have given?

My 5-words-or-less take (for traditional RPGs) is "Have adventures of your own."

Quote from: Catelf;805294Fun?
Um, it might be something lost in translation, but I tend to define "fun" as something more to the funny definition, and I would not call the tension during a battle or other decisive actions to be "funny".

I would clearly admit to it being entertaining, though.

Some people have fun jumping off bridges with a rubber band tied to their ankle... :eek:

Quote from: Omega;805338Some people have fun jumping off bridges with a rubber band tied to their ankle... :eek:

Or jumping out of perfectly functional planes while they are in mid-air. People they are funny. And usually not in the funny ha-ha way.

Quote from: Catelf;805294Fun?
Um, it might be something lost in translation, but I tend to define "fun" as something more to the funny definition, and I would not call the tension during a battle or other decisive actions to be "funny".

Well, there's your problem. Mistranslation. "Fun" means exciting and enjoyable, not humorous.

Quote from: jeff37923;805267My response was, "To have fun."

What responses would you have given?

I cannot think of a better response, and in fact I wish people would remember this before embarking on Internet hobby culture wars.

Quote from: cranebump;805301"To see your enemies driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their [significant others]."

This^

And to see "that look" on your GM's face when the Big Bad goes down in one round because you are on fire and even your d12 is turning out 20s.

Walking out the Temple of Elemental Horrors with so much loot even your Dwarven war goat is going to have armor of gold.

And then grabbing a last slice of pizza as the last notes of "Ramble On" guide your dice in leveling up your character.

There is a such thing as terms of victory in a RPG.

Quote from: jeff37923;805267One of the first was, "What is the goal of a roleplaying game?"

My response was, "To have fun."

What responses would you have given?

To have fun . But not at the expense of the other players.
Play a character of your creation based on the rolls and allowances of chargen. Explore, adventure and interact with the game world and the denezins therein - be they friend, foe or neither.

Though of course every table will be different in some respects. Some may focus more on the dungeon delve. Others may focus on the overland, others on city intrigue, etc. Some may be totally random "stuff happens" and others may follow a loose sort of chain of events, and others may follow a specific plot, etc.