As I discussed previously, RPGs are Chimeras, the melding of older components that generate a very specific monster. Precisely how we play, where and how our energy and attention are being focused, tells us something important about our specific games.
Two prominent components in RPGs are Miniature Wargaming and Make Believe. From the Miniature Wargaming ancestor, we get the use of numbers, charts, dice-rolls and algorithms. And from the Make Believe ancestor we have the portrayal of character personalities, the development of an unfolding narrative, and world-exploration.
A vital starting point comes in understanding that the mixture of the methods from those two (or from any source) is not set in stone. We can steer the gaming experience, and altering our Methods is, in my opinion, the most powerful way to begin.
Method concerns innumerable gaming practices and habits, some of which are so old & deeply engrained that we either don’t see them or don’t see them as optional. Exposing their effects is invaluable for those wishing to generate different gaming experiences. When we zoom in on the innumerable methodological options, the opportunities to generate variations (large and small) arise.
Questions abound, like, Is the world viewed as a stable place, independent of the Players’ desires, or do the Players participate in the world’s creation (or mutation) outside of the actions of their characters?
Is the expectation that the PCs could die in any battle, or can that only happen during a “dramatic climax”? Or perhaps they can never die, regardless of the ostensible danger?
How consistent are things like Cause & Effect or physics in your worlds? Are events in your gaming world assumed to flow reasonably from logical causes or is the groups’ (tacit or explicit) expectation that events will bend towards the “dramatic”?
We’ve all heard of the “Rule of Cool,” where the GMs allow Players to succeed in some scheme or momentary action, not because it’s plausible, but because it would be entertaining. Consider the impact of this method on its own. What does it do?
Do you expect the events transpiring in the world to always focus on the Players? Are they treated as main characters in a novel? Do the Players’ characters get special treatment just because they are being controlled by the Players? E.g., even though they’re peasants, do they get to have an audience with the King (purely because the Players wanted to)?
How often are the Players rolling dice? How many charts do they need to reference while playing? How frequently does the GM make secret/hidden rolls? What pushes you in one direction or the other for that choice? Do the Players view miniature figures, perhaps on a grid/battle map during combat (or even outside of it)? What are the effects of that method?
Each such issue (and there are many more) falls under the umbrella of Method, and how exactly your group proceeds steers it in one direction or the other.
Of course, none of your answers are value judgements, for there’s no such thing as a “bad gaming appetite”. But getting what you want from your games means understanding the potential effects from each such methodological choices. When we want something different in our games, zooming in on and then altering your methods is the best first starting place.
It's vital to do away with all “sacred cows” in gaming, the presuppositions (many of which were passed down to us from the RPG pioneers) about our methods. Only by being willing to let go of all ancient dictums, can we begin to experiment with new methods.
And experimentation is probably the only way that we can observe the effects that changes in method can bring. Discussions on theory leave most people bored. Only by trying new things in a good-faith manner can we observe the effects, leading to new experiments to hone the experiences even more.
My current methods have been honed to accommodate the appetites that I and my group have, but it was not overnight. In fact, if 20-year-old me saw the list of my current gaming methods, I’d have simply balked. But 20-year-old me, while he was having fun, was not actually maximizing his fun. He wasn’t getting what he most sincerely wanted because he did not see that his gaming methods were powerful and malleable.
But they are both, and I encourage you to search, experiment & change to get exactly what you most want out of your RPG Chimeras.