Originally Posted by
kyoryu
...I've seen three basic interaction types in RPGs.
Type 1:
GM: "This is the situation"
Player: "Okay, I do this thing."
GM: "This is the new situation."
Type 2:
Player 1: "I move my character in accordance with the rules"
Player 2: "I move my character in accordance with the rules"
Player 3: "I move my character in accordance with the rules"
Type 3:
Player 1: "This happens"
Player 2: "Then this happens"
Player 3: "And then this happens"
Few games are strictly one type, and many switch types based on what's going on at a given time.
They are all, I think, roleplaying, at least so long as each player nominally has control of a (or even a few, think Ars Magica) primary characters.