Cool. So, take an arcade game where you have a character--maybe you're a plumber trying to rescue a princess (but judging by the amount of times she's not in the castle, maybe she DOESN'T need rescuing??), maybe you're a character competing in a fighting tournament with a killer finishing move, whatever, right? Table top role playing is sort of like that, but instead of pushing buttons to see if you succeed, there are dice to roll and numbers to put in. And you're speaking for the character, because you are that character.
Takes awhile to get used to, and it's not for everyone, but if everyone involved is willing to try and be ridiculous and not worry about being THE BEST then it's always a good time.