Maybe the difference is, for me anyway, that my “character” does learn something because i learned something reading those things, If you get my meaning. What i mean is, if you roleplay your character, you are still learning… it isn’t written down or anything… No one keeps track of it, but whatever character you play in any setting, video game, or whatever, can still learn. I guess what I’m trying to say is, you can roleplay, regardless of the format. That’s a very personal thing. In the Elder Scrolls games there are mountains of books to read, tons of information. You can choose to read every single book and use that lore. It’s all there. In GW2 there are books as well… You don’t really get anything for reading them (or every gravestone -but I read them anyway) but you do learn more about the world, history, etc.
When you roleplay, ANY game can work, because you’re making up your own story and simply using the game’s setting.
(And after an hour or so of searching I found a screenshot of my male assassin in PWI): 