The Next Innovation in Gaming

[Jan van Leyden]

The ability to use a rather unobtrusive electronic device at the table for character management will, IMHO, not revolutionise our hobby. It may lead to a renaissance of complicated rulesets like Rolemaster (many table look-ups) or Hârnmaster (very much things to track).

Other evolutionary things which might see the light of the day are a stronger player involvement in story direction and an increased emphasis on group mechanics. Both elements have been introduced time and again, but never really took hold.

 

[Stormonu]

The ability to use a rather unobtrusive electronic device at the table for character management will, IMHO, not revolutionise our hobby. It may lead to a renaissance of complicated rulesets like Rolemaster (many table look-ups) or Hârnmaster (very much things to track).

Other evolutionary things which might see the light of the day are a stronger player involvement in story direction and an increased emphasis on group mechanics. Both elements have been introduced time and again, but never really took hold.

Actually, I don't think we're going to see a "revolution" in the RPG hobby again, more likely it will be "refinements" from here on out. I think the more the hobby leaders (most especially WotC) start to embrace the electronic aspects of the game, that it will help the hobby sustain for longer. I think RPGs have passed their prime and most folks are looking elsewhere for their entertainment; at this point RPGs are fighting to keep their fan bases interested and involved, much less grow them. Let computers do the grunt work and handle the math, and let those friends who get together to game focus on the game instead of mechanics and tracking modifiers and whatnot.

Side Rant
[sblock]What steams me is with what little regard WotC seems to have for computers and the role electronics could play in the game. 3E's E-tools fiasco, Pulling PDF's, shelving the virtual table and visualizer was very sad - the latter would have been great for 4E's health. (And I think they really missed the boat and had to paddle fast with the power cards - and I still think they did a poor job on that...). I guess we're very lucky they managed to keep the Compendium & Character Builder up and working smoothly enough. When it comes to innovating electronics, I get the feeling WotC's about 10-15 years behind where they could be.[/sblock]

 

[dunbruha]

I'm thinking of something along the lines of Second Life--where you can actually (er, virtually) enter the world created by the GM, and interact there with other players, NPCs, and critters of course.

 

[Morrus]

I have to agree with those who think the next big jump will be in terms of technology.

 

[Glyfair]

I actually think the next step for gaming will be entirely different from the perspectives in this thread so far. Tabletop gaming is currently competing with electronic entertainment for a share of our entertainment (dollars/pounds/yen/euros), and electronic entertainment is winning. Tabletop gaming won't continue on into the coming decades by evolving into another electronic entertainment form, but by offering an alternative to the flickering, glowing rectangles that rule the rest of our lives.

I see your point, and disagree with the premise. I do believe that tabletop RPGs are not going to innovate by becoming "another electronic entertainment form." At least, not if it's like what we have today. However, I also don't believe that tabletop RPGs will reach the next level by ignoring the electronic tools we have now or may have in the future.

The biggest hurdle to running a smooth RPG these days is information. Nothing allows us to handle information better than computers and similar devices. Ignoring these tools altogether can do nothing more than hinder any development to a new innovation in RPGs. That doesn't mean the next innovation will be in the electronic area, but I bet the game will make use of that area (or at least will have it as an option).

Any attempt to elimenate the DM is foredoomed to failure. If you are limited to something less than the imagination, it's not PnP gaming.

I strongly disagree with this. Eliminating the gamemaster doesn't have to eliminate the imagination. Thinking like this is the sort of thing that will hinder the next innovation. The innovators don't think "this will never work" they think "how can I make this work?"

I consider the amount of weight on a gamemaster to be one of the biggest hurdles to get people into the game. So much responsibility for the game lies on their shoulders that a bad GM can prevent people from trying the game again.

A good place to look for innovation in RPGs is at the role of the gamemaster. Can we take the role and spread out the responsibilities among the players. Can we come up with a way to create "crutches" to help the fledgling or below average gamemasters without hindering the inspired?

Changing the role of the GM, or possibly even eliminating it, is a very good place to look for innovation in RPGs.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

I more or less agree with this:

Actually, I don't think we're going to see a "revolution" in the RPG hobby again, more likely it will be "refinements" from here on out.

Most of what folks have been discussing in this thread regarding technology isn't actually "revolution", but simply "evolution". IMHO, the "next big thing" will obviously be tablets, or touch-screens, or 3D rendered systems with easy player/GM manipulation; this is as inevitable in ttrpgs as it is in every other aspect of life. Certainly it will be snazzy, but it won't be particularly innovative or revolutionary, just because those kinds changes won't do much to breathe new life into the hobby.

Sadly, I'm with those who think there will be no more true innovation in RPGing beyond the tech stuff. I think ttrpgs (and their hi-tech online variants) have seen their day. Unless...

Changing the role of the GM, or possibly even eliminating it, is a very good place to look for innovation in RPGs.

...this happens. Which frankly is a trend that has already begun, in the guise of MMORPGs. I think some sort of AI could conceivably replace the GM, although not very satisfactorily, and not for quite a while.

Alternatively, there could be "innovation" of fashion (and therefore likely driven by media or marketing): ttrpgs just become "cool" again for some inexplicable reason, in the same way that bellbottoms, pogs and piercings have had their day.

The last (and, IMHO least likely) possibility for true innovation, would be that someone devises a super-duper-fantastic mechanic that eliminates all the prep & calculation & other "difficult" parts. But such a change-- while revolutionary-- would likely result in a game as different from today's ttrpgs as Magic:The Gathering is from poker.

And like the revolutionary M:TG, this kind of thing would never become "the next big thing" unless it also rides the wave of fashion, in addition to being truly innovative.

 

[Edgewood]

The last (and, IMHO least likely) possibility for true innovation, would be that someone devises a super-duper-fantastic mechanic that eliminates all the prep & calculation & other "difficult" parts. But such a change-- while revolutionary-- would likely result in a game as different from today's ttrpgs as Magic:The Gathering is from poker.

The above pretty much sums up the question I was asking. Although technology will certainly enhance, improve, facilitate and ease the way we utilize the information we access in terms of ttrpgs, in and of itself it will not "innovate" or "revolutionize" our hobby. Those advance may innovate and revolutionize access to information but that would be across the board, in all facets that that technology is used, not just for our hobby.

I guess what I'm asking is far too esoteric as it certainly asks for someone to make a "guess" as to where the hobby will take us next. Perhaps it would be better to ask, what would be the next evolution in RPGs? And of course the answer to that would certainly include technology.

I find the idea of how the role of the GM could change somewhat intriguing. The requirements of a GM becomes somewhat less, I think, the more technology starts to do the heavy lifting as it were. Do I see the GM being eliminated all together? No. The need to tell a story comes in many forms and I find that the GM and the players together with their synergy and interaction makes for a great way to tell a story. I don't think technology will ever take that away.

 

[arscott]

I think the degree of digital integration described by some of the posters here is a long way off. RPGs just don't have the customer base to drive innovation in these areas. Instead, I think we'll see the crazy-cool things start in other segments of the entertainment industry: E-book readers will change the presentation of traditional fiction and non-fiction books before we see a dramatic effect on RPG books, Technologies like Microsoft Surface are going to revolutionize the way we play Monopoly and Clue before they revolutionize the way we play D&D.

In the more short term, I think we'll see a return to the boxed set, à la Warhammer FRP and Dragon Age. With the release of 4e, D&D has become far less suitable as a 'gateway game', and both WFRP and DA are very much designed to draw players from outside the RPG Hobby--In their boxes, they actually look like games instead of textbooks. RPG adaptations of a miniatures game and a video game respectively, they're perfectly positioned to draw other sorts of gamers into rpgs specifically. They both, in very different ways, focus on what tabletop does well. And WFRP, at least, is piracy-resistant due to it's component-heavy nature.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I'm thinking of something along the lines of Second Life--where you can actually (er, virtually) enter the world created by the GM, and interact there with other players, NPCs, and critters of course.

VLARP - Virtual Live Action Role Playing

 

[SSquirrel]

Second Life is more like VPorn