Gamist advancement

At one point in "Gamism: Step On Up," Edwards notes that Gamist and Narrativist modes of play have a lot aspects of play. At the end of the list is this:

"Reward systems that reflect player choices (strategy, aesthetics, whatever) rather than on in-game character logic or on conformity to a pre-stated plan of play."

In games like Call of Cthulhu, your character advances are in terms of growth in skill and Sanity points. In D&D your character gets better at the stuff she does. All of the rewards are in terms of what your character gets in game. As a player, your reward is watching your character get better.

In Apocalypse World and other Narrativist games, the rewards instead "reflect player choices (strategy, aesthetics, whatever)." When I chose a new move for my character, it is a decision about what I want to have happen in the story, what I want to see my character do not what I want my character to be like. Even the choice to improve my stats is about what I want my character to do (boosting my Weird to Open My Brain to the Psychic Maelstrom, or improving my Hot to have more fun manipulating folk).

Not a distinction I had thought of before, but what a cool thing.