Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
4 Hours w/ RSD - Escapist Bonus Column
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="joelesko" data-source="post: 7647845" data-attributes="member: 97901"><p>Since the topic has mostly turned to VTTs, I thought I would chime in, since I've considered all these issues while designing the <a href="http://fabletop.com" target="_blank">Fabletop</a> app.</p><p></p><p>The biggest issue, IMO, is that the most popular systems are all designed for face-to-face play. Even with all the fancy new tech out there, the "interface" of sitting around a table with real-life friends and a stack of books is vastly different than even the most flexible of graphical user interfaces. </p><p></p><p>Consider the idea of the "handout", which is so simple in real life that the name itself tells you what to do: you just hand it out. </p><p></p><p>But when you're designing the same task for an online medium, you have to deal with a bunch of new, non-trivial issues: what file formats do you support, how to get the file "into" the app, how to deal with large files, are there controls on who gets to see it, where on the screen does it appear, is it movable/resizable, how to make it accessible in later games (or outside the game), and how to quickly teach the users how to do all of the above. Many of the things we take for granted in face-to-face play are like that, and it's even more difficult if you want to ensure a nice, polished experience. </p><p></p><p>Also, even with things like real-time video/audio, roleplaying online often has the "uncanny valley" effect. It might kinda-sorta do the job, but it still doesn't feel right.</p><p></p><p>MMOs don't have this issue because they have evolved to the medium's strengths, and they manage to provide what many (arguably most) gamers in the 80's wanted from D&D (hang out, kill monsters, get treasure, level-up, etc). Neverwinter Nights had a lot of promise, but the support for tabletop-style play was minimal and you really had to struggle to play it that way. </p><p></p><p>So my belief right now is that, if there is a successful online equivalent to TTRPGs, it won't be a conversion of a face-to-face system. It will probably be something different, that plays to the strengths of the online medium while still making imagination an important part of the game.</p><p></p><p>As far as the future of (non-virtual) tabletop gaming, I agree with Mr. Dancey that there is probably a lot of promise in "party style" roleplaying. Think about how casual computer games have recently boomed after a long period of dominance by hard core shooters and RTS's. There may be a similar opening waiting to be filled by a simpler RPG with a broader appeal. But if anything is to re-invigorate the space, I doubt it will come from an established brand. It will be something unexpected, and probably (hopefully) stretch our current idea of what it means to roleplay. And lead to all kinds of online arguments, of course!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="joelesko, post: 7647845, member: 97901"] Since the topic has mostly turned to VTTs, I thought I would chime in, since I've considered all these issues while designing the [URL="http://fabletop.com"]Fabletop[/URL] app. The biggest issue, IMO, is that the most popular systems are all designed for face-to-face play. Even with all the fancy new tech out there, the "interface" of sitting around a table with real-life friends and a stack of books is vastly different than even the most flexible of graphical user interfaces. Consider the idea of the "handout", which is so simple in real life that the name itself tells you what to do: you just hand it out. But when you're designing the same task for an online medium, you have to deal with a bunch of new, non-trivial issues: what file formats do you support, how to get the file "into" the app, how to deal with large files, are there controls on who gets to see it, where on the screen does it appear, is it movable/resizable, how to make it accessible in later games (or outside the game), and how to quickly teach the users how to do all of the above. Many of the things we take for granted in face-to-face play are like that, and it's even more difficult if you want to ensure a nice, polished experience. Also, even with things like real-time video/audio, roleplaying online often has the "uncanny valley" effect. It might kinda-sorta do the job, but it still doesn't feel right. MMOs don't have this issue because they have evolved to the medium's strengths, and they manage to provide what many (arguably most) gamers in the 80's wanted from D&D (hang out, kill monsters, get treasure, level-up, etc). Neverwinter Nights had a lot of promise, but the support for tabletop-style play was minimal and you really had to struggle to play it that way. So my belief right now is that, if there is a successful online equivalent to TTRPGs, it won't be a conversion of a face-to-face system. It will probably be something different, that plays to the strengths of the online medium while still making imagination an important part of the game. As far as the future of (non-virtual) tabletop gaming, I agree with Mr. Dancey that there is probably a lot of promise in "party style" roleplaying. Think about how casual computer games have recently boomed after a long period of dominance by hard core shooters and RTS's. There may be a similar opening waiting to be filled by a simpler RPG with a broader appeal. But if anything is to re-invigorate the space, I doubt it will come from an established brand. It will be something unexpected, and probably (hopefully) stretch our current idea of what it means to roleplay. And lead to all kinds of online arguments, of course! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
4 Hours w/ RSD - Escapist Bonus Column
Top