Now, I'm lucky. I've always had players open to non-D&D games and, over the last 35 years, I've probably run more "multi-genre" games than anything else - Dream Park, GURPS, and now Torg Eternity... These required me to change "voices" with every new setting. Torg, in particular, because of its fantasy realm Aysle, created a contrast with what we might call traditional role-playing (D&D) and other genres. Specifically, I found myself running picaresques full of random encounters when in Aysle, but not in the game's other cosms. So let's look at how genre affects the GameMaster's planning and performance.
Structure
My example above isn't the only distinct structural trope in genre literature, and of course, not all fantasy games will conform to this one! Look at the type of story you're telling within your game. Is it high-octane action? Well, whether that's an Indiana Jones pulp adventure or a space opera like Star Wars, consider using roll-less action teasers, or starting in the middle of the action (with a flashback recap of when the PCs were handed a mission). In games where social interaction and world exploration are the gist, create NPCs with rich backstories and weave a web of political dynamics between them and the PCs. It doesn't really matter what the specific genre is, there is a higher order of genre - comedy, tragedy, action thriller... These overlays dictate the game's structure more than the "setting genre".
And yet, you can also allow that setting genre to dictate your structure. Gothic horror was originally epistolary, so making letters central to what gets the PCs into the story could be a fun idea. A Star Trek-type game could get you into an adventure quickly with a captain's log. A one-shot western game could have a ticking clock using high noon as a necessary showdown and sunset as the obligatory end point your cowboys HAVE to ride into. A superhero game takes breaks between story beats for subplots, even scenes the PCs aren't involved in, but advance an NPC or villain's story. An epic sword and sandals campaign might go the Homer route and start in medias res, with players trying to get to that mid-point in Part 1, then resolve the back half of the adventure after that "telling". The point is to look at how stories in that genre have done it and adapt it to your plot structure.
Beyond the way NPCs speak, there's the way YOU do. Describing things is one of the GM's responsibilities. It's where you inject ATMOSPHERE and control the pace of the game. High Fantasy games should have incredible sights and a legend behind each location and object. Cyberpunk games should use technospeak and street slang. And horror often requires disturbing and violent imagery (though you may want to check the sensitivity of your players before going ahead with some of the harsher images). In addition to content, there's STYLE. Maybe you speak in a wise old whisper describing your fantasy world, but a bombastic tone right out of Super-Friends in your supers campaign. If you play in a harsh, postapocalyptic, unfair, survival game, why not be belligerent to your players (again, let them in on the trope). The Paranoia RPG is one you might want to look at, because you sort of GM as the Computer, who is quite unfair and frustrating.
Speaking of (lower-case P) paranoia, genres that require it - horror, espionage, cyberpunk - give the GM a unique opportunity to lie to the players. Ask them to make rolls (perception as there was something in the corner of your eye, or constitution as you worry about getting infected with the zombie plague), but these aren't attached to anything. Or they might be. Or you're just rolling for fun behind your GM's screen. They don't know. It's their paranoia that's triggering the rolls, or vice versa. Tell them they saw something, or felt something, but it was in their imagination. Sometimes it's just a matter of attitude, that cagey way you have of answering their questions. Make them THINK you're lying when you're telling the truth. It'll drive them up the wall, and therefore, their characters.
But Wait... Adjudication?
The other responsibility the GM has is adjudicating the rules. Does THAT change with the game's genre? Well, most games will have that built in, but if you're using a more generic/universal rule set, you may want to give it a push or a tweak. In action games, lower the difficulty numbers for cool action beats. "I shoot him" doesn't get a bonus, but "I grab the meat hook, give myself a push, and shoot the mobsters while moving towards the exit" does. In games where morality is important (horror games that ask you to do terrible things, or superhero games with clear white hats), think about introducing a Corruption mechanic that forces rolls to actually do bad things, with a cost for failure (XP, loss of integrity points that will eventually make you lose your character, like in Vampire, etc.). If that sounds too Judeo-Christian for your fantasy game, just look at the values represented in your setting (valor, courage, etc.). The point is always to look at your game and ask how you can make it FEEL more like the genre's pre-existing corpus.
And of course there's props and music and even the look of your homemade character sheets (a Who's Who page for your Supers? Yes!). All of this helps you IMMERSE your players in the game and inspire them to ALSO adopt the genre's language and tropes (we all know players who kill and loot like they're in a dungeon regardless of the game). /Voice Off
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