I am confused. How is Dungeon World different than any other narrative RPG? How is it different than FATE?
AKA, WTF does a player and GM do in Dungeon World that is so marvelously different than what goes on in traditional RPGs?
I found FATE to be too metagamey for my own taste. Dungeon World is much different than D&D, despite what the people in this thread say. Dungeon World emphasizes how the PCs react to danger and treats in-combat and out-of-combat the same. Whereas D&D is very much based on hard numbers (AC, percentile charts, THAC0, save DCs, and so forth), Dungeon World is not. I'll give an example.
DM: As you are exploring the room, you hear the door behind you crack and splinter. A mighty ogre bursts through, driven to a furious hunger by the scent of fresh meat.
Fighter: I'm going to draw my sword and stand between the ogre and everyone else. "Come get some, you ugly brute!"
DM: Wait, you can't act yet. We have to roll for initiative.
*break in scene to determine initiative order*
DM: The ogre gets to act first because he's surprised you. The ogre is famished, so he rushes over to the closest target--that's you, Wizard.
Wizard: Can I run away from him?
DM: No, he gets to act before you. The ogre rolls a 15.
Wizard: Can I dodge it?
DM: No, it hits your AC and does 12 points of damage.
Fighter: Can I block the attack with my shield?
DM: No, it's not your turn.
Here's how the scenario would play out in Dungeon World.
DM: As you are exploring the room, you hear the door behind you crack and splinter. A mighty ogre bursts through, driven to a furious hunger by the scent of fresh meat.
Fighter: I'm going to draw my sword and stand between the ogre and everyone else. "Come get some, you ugly brute!"
DM: The ogre is famished, and he has the jump on you. He's heading straight for the closest person--that's Wizard. How are you going to make it in time?
Fighter: Simple, I'm faster than that ugly brute.
DM: We'll see. Roll +Dex.
Fighter: 12+, so I make it in time.
DM: Okay, you make it over, but the ogre is swinging his club down. You can try to block it, if you want. Roll +Con.
Fighter: I rolled an 8, so I get 1 hold. I'm going to spend it to redirect the attack to myself.
DM: Okay, the ogre does 12 points of damage to you.
Wizard: While the fighter's doing that, I'm going to run back to cast a spell.
And so on. It's a much more natural flow to the game.