[Newworlds]

In my opinion, we speaking of an enforced roleplay game there is no difference unless the terms are used in character but out of genre.

Example: Jack says to Jill, "Hey Jill, I just got my level 20 in my guild and my skill is now 25 in swimming!" Which is completely ooc unless the game you are playing has rankings that are roleplayable like some military game, etc.

The term skill vs. level is irrelevant and all games use numbers to show advancement, whether it be skills, coins, levels, position, etc. The backend has numbers associated and most games give the player some perspective of that number. I haven't found a game that doesn't do this in some fashion.

Using these terms IC however (which is not allowed in Ateraan) is a severe breach of immersion and genre, even though this is done extensively in tabletop D&D, WoW, and the like.

There are long arguments over what is considered appropriate for enforced roleplay and immersive roleplay. My answer is simple and short: Stay in character and within genre and you will achieve both regardless of the system you play within as long as those around you do the same.