Games - GNS Theory

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	Games - GNS Theory

The GNS Theory, as originally developed by Ron Edwards, holds that participants in role-playing games can be divided into three categories:

Gamists who play for competition and challenge
Narrativists who play for story and characterization
Simulationists who play to explore and experience

Strictly, GNS theory is concerned with gamers, but it has been extrapolated to direct game design, both in and out of the world of RPGs. Game designers find it useful because it can be used to explain why players play certain games. Critics of the theory have argued that it doesn't really explain anything regarding player behavior, and only serves to shoehorn game design down limited paths.

G,N,S: Gamist, Narrativist, Simulationist

Gamist

Gamist refers to a player who makes decisions based on what will make the most effective solution to the dilemma posed, or to a game which pits characters against successively tougher challenges and opponents without spending much time explaining why the characters should face them.

In contrast to a Narrativist, the gamist has a tendency to "let the dice fall as they may", and won't fudge things to better the story. In contrast to the Simulationist, the gamist has a tendency to ensure that encounters are a fair match for an adventuring party, instead of basing them entirely on what would be realistic in the setting.

Dungeons and Dragons is often classified as a Gamist role-playing game, as are Computer RPGs. Detractors of gamist play often accuse gamist players of trying to "win" a game whose purpose is to be enjoyed.

Narrativist

Narrativist refers to a player who makes a decision based on what would further a dramatic story, or a game which encourages this style of play.

Many indie role-playing games are classified as Narrativist games, e.g. Dogs in the Vineyard

Simulationist

Simulationist role-playing game refers to a player who makes decisions based on what would be most realistic within the game's setting, or to a game where the rules try to simulate the way that things work in the real world, or at least the way that they could be thought of working.

For example, to resolve combat (a rather common event in many of role-playing games) a simulationist approach might be to see if the character hits, then if the victim can parry, then how much 'damage' the weapon does, then how much of this the armour stops, then determine what part of the victim is hit, then see how much harm the remaining damage does.

The benefit of this method is that it is simple for the players to interpret the results and understand what must have happened. The drawback is that the process can take a long time to perform and the process is not always how the real world works, anyway.

GURPS is often classified as a simulationist role-playing system.

Other terms

The GNS theory incorporates Jonathan Tweet's three forms of task resolution that determine the outcome of an event. Edwards said that an RPG should use a task resolution system or combination of systems that is most appropriate for game's GNS perspective. The three task resolution forms are:

Drama, the game master decides the results, the requirements of the plot being the determining factor
Fortune, chance decides the results (e.g., by using dice)
Karma, a fixed value decides the results (e.g., by comparing stats)

It has been suggested that the main reason Edwards changed the Threefold Model's Drama type to Narrativism for GNS was to avoid confusion with Drama as a task resolution system.

The GNS Theory identifies five elements of role-playing that all players recognize:

Character, a fictional person
Color, details that provide atmosphere
Setting, location (in space and time)
Situation, the dilemma
System, determines how in-game events unfold

It also explains four Stances the player can have in making decisions for their character:

Actor, decides based on what their character would know
Author, decides based on what they as a player want for their character and then retroactively explains why their character made that decision
Director, makes decisions that affect the environment rather than the character (usually represented by a game master in an RPG)
Pawn, decides based on what they as a player want for their character without bothering to explain why their character would make that decision

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for GNS Theory ]

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