Saying that though, I do agree with you. But I think part of the problem is that many gamers are simply too lazy to create and maintain a story for themselves.

Think of the last time you played almost any single player RPG. You created a character and imagined (maybe only briefly and casually, maybe in quite a bit of detail) a background and motivation for that character.

Then your character comes up against a problem, you think "OK, based on my characters imagined motivations he/she/it would do it this way…"

But very soon after, you start to second guess the developers. "I know (based on my imagining of my characters motivations) my character would do it another way, but the easy way to beat this quest/get that cool item/move on the the next chapter is to do something else entirely…" Often what you end up doing is the easiest way to beat the game, not what stays true to what would create, or maintain, a story based on a consistant character motivation.

Gamers sometimes end up taking the easy way out.

Maybe the stories people are creating are just like the one you wrote about. They are no so much relevent to the character IN the game, but to the person PLAYING the game. I suppose it all depends on how you like to play, we would get all metaphysical here… when you play, are you the person PLAYING the game, or the person IN the game.

Each perspective constructs its narratives in very different ways.

freedom it can bring not to mention the fun and good laughs.

If you have a good DM anything is possible, not just questing for the sword of blah blah, or the bad taste you describe in your mouth after the BS with the Guild

uber cool for school wanks.

I had a DM once who’s introduction for our evil party( this is MERP by the way)

was as follows: take over the world.

This was set just after the fall of the ring with lots of written detail provided by our DM who had gone to the effort to write many pages of background for us.

it was a great game and we had little success. lots of laughs and we all died.

my dwarven warrior got tied to the mast of a sinking ship and then was burnt to death by friendly fire… (read our crappy mage )

warrior got possessed by a sword he tried to steal from a dead palladin.

And the cleric got the shits with it all ( read Female)

A least you can choose who you play with.

Maybe the MMORPG designers should role play more.?