This is a little gem I found on a blog called GM Struggles. Nifelhein, the blog owner, reposts a response he gave in the DW once. The original forum post was the one that originally made me “get” the DW framework and mindset. Enjoy 🙂
http://gmstruggles.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/dungeon-world-i-didnt-get-it-at-first-too/
Exactly! The big difference between DW/AW and other games is that it’s a return to fiction first as opposed to rules first. I used to run my games like this all the time back in the original D&D and AD&D days, but 3e and 4e put everyone in a different mindset which has taken some serious undoing.
Curtis Hay has it right. Back in my early days, it was all about the story we were telling. Fiction was first with rules being subservient.
I am Nifelhein as far as the world of rpg is concerned. I am focusing the blog on this exact kind of struggles, I have a post talking about expectations too, and how those can undo a game even before it begins.
Dungeon World throws a gamer with solid D&D background out of his comfort zone, his filter in interaction with the world is not the system any more (as it is in D&D), but instead is his character. It also takes a lot of work for a confrontational GM.
I am glad though, reading the book once already made me a better GM, working through it for the second time now.