couple of examples:

d&d:
what are the rewards for players? exp, gold, and magic items
how do you get those things? killing things and taking their stuff
d&d (as designed) is about killing things and taking their stuff to advance the collaborative narrative

burning wheel:
what are the rewards for players? artha and skill advancement
how do you get those things? character roleplay and using skills
burning wheel (as designed) is about roleplaying a character that uses their skills to advance the collaborative narrative

obviously you can use a system to play pretty much whatever you like, but the systems themselves, as written, are about these things