D&D vs. WoW

[Quasqueton]

What does table-top, face-to-face, pen-and-paper RPGing give a player that online, multi-player, computer RPGs don't/can't? Can/will these "features" ever get incorporated into computer RPGs?


What do the computer RPGs give that pen-and-paper RPGs don't/can't? How can a face-to-face group bring these good computer RPG "features" into their table-top game?


Have you ever lost a Player from your table game to a computer game? Have you ever brought in a Player from the computer worlds to your table campaign?

Quasqueton

 

[Andor]

What do MMORPGs lack?

Voice communication, facial expressions, shared snacks, the ability to play something else, physical presence, the ability to alter rules on the fly or to make judgement calls, home brews.

What do RPGs lack?

Complex systems handled seamlessly, graphics, setting appropriate music, functional economies, ninja looting, kill stealing, corpse camping, l33T speak, newbs, and newb haters.

Some of these things can be overcome on either side with some effort now. Others may be fixed in the future, some will be eternal.

No and No.

 

[Quasqueton]

Thanks for the first response.

I'm hoping to discuss positive things, here. Let's leave out the negative things. What positive "features" does one have over the other?

Quasqueton

 

[Dragonbait]

kill stealing, ..., newbs, and newb haters.

Strangely, TTRPGs (Table-top RPGs) have these too.

Anyways, the positives:

TTRPGs allow a person to be the story teller (aka GM or DM). To create their own personalized world with their own races, cultures, history and so on and share this world with others. While MMORPGs create worlds, it can only happen with lots and lots of money and employees to work on it. TTRPGs do not require the time and resources that software developers require to make a MMORPG, and both come out with a world for others to enjoy.

MMORPGs have easy access. Whenever you want to play, you can. TTRPGs do not handle this spontaneity as well, unless the GM is very experienced. Also, MMORPGs do not normally require you to work with other people's schedules, which TTRPGs require.

Face-to-Face communication is another plus on the TTRPG's side. MMORPGs allow for communication, but only through text messages and emoticons. Andor already brought this up, along with some other key differences.

Edited for spelling.

 

[Mark CMG]

What does table-top, face-to-face, pen-and-paper RPGing give a player that online, (. . .)

I like both styles of gaming but prefer face-to-face interaction. I prefer to game with close friends and there's a level of friendship that comes from being with people that you can't achieve online, IMO.

 

[cattoy]

A MMORPG is obliged to allow just about anybody who pays their sub fees.

You get to pick who you invite to your gaming table.


This is the single most important distinction.

 

[WayneLigon]

Tabletop: The ability to do something different that the designer had in mind, or that is technically difficult for a computer to do. My character can jump on a chair, swing from a light fixture, go over and ask that handsome guardsman what he's doing later, go chat with the pretty shopgirl, rifle through a library shelf and find something to read that night, eat a satifying meal, draw steel on a cheating merchant or any of a million other things. The ability to say 'you see the most beautiful girl you've ever seen standing on your doorstep'. I can change the rules, I can decide I want to get a haircut in exactly the style I describe, I can adopt a new class, etc. I don't have to pay for the game. I can play when it's raining, or during a blackout, or if I decide not to pay the cable bill. I don't have to buy a $200-$1000 bit of equipment every couple of years to continue playing. No viruses, driver problems, lag, software glitches, nerfs, hackers, griefers, farmers, campers, or characters named 'Buttf@c3'.

Computer Games; Convenience, Consistancy. Some stunning visuals. Nice music. The abilty to see my character, and react to what he sees. The ability to better judge my foes.

 

[sniffles]

I don't play online games and don't currently know anyone who does.

MMORPGs have one advantage over tabletop in that you're all in the same shared visual environment. When you enter the darkened sanctum of the evil temple everyone knows what it looks like and it's not subject to the vagaries of interpreting language.

For me MMORPGs will only become as appealing as tabletop RPGs when I can communicate both verbally and visually with my fellow players, we can tailor the setting to suit our tastes, and when play is free after the initial investment for software.

 

[LostSoul]

Tabletop games are limited only by your imaginations.

Computer games you can play whenever you feel like it.

 

[Droogie]

What do we like about PnP? First thing that pops into my mind is the face to face interaction, of course. Most of us crave the company of our friends, and PnP rpgs provide this. Drawback: not always easy to get 4-6 busy adults together regularly, and the amount of work involved to learn the rules and prepare adventures is more than most people are willing to do. However, if you only meet once a week for four hours, it probably sucks up less of your time than the typical MMORPG (unless you're the DM).

MMOPRG is a misnomer anyway, since I've never seen anyone actually roleplay in the ones I've played. Online games are more like a theme park, where everyone pays their admission to see the spectacles and gets in line to ride the roller coaster, play the carny games, and win the prize. At least at first. After a while it starts to feel like a slot machine. A one-armed bandit that you slouch in front of, bleary-eyed for over 20 hours a week.But at the very least, we don't need to sift through volumes of rulebooks to resolve combat, which is over in seconds rather than hours. And the game is always there..always on.....always.......always....on...............


We've never lost a player to CRPGs, BTW. given the choice between PNP and online , they always choose the former.

That said, there are some games I'd rather play on the computer. As a Star Wars fan, I'd rather play Jedi Academy or KOTOR rather than suffer through a turn-based saber battle with movement rules, AoOs, and dozens of force feats to keep track of.

If PnP can learn anything from the computer world, its that pnp needs continual rules refinement to facilitate ease of play, so much so that the rules can start to fade into the background, allowing DMs and players to concentrate on character and story.

Single player CRPGs are good with story and (recently) immersion, but MMORPGs can only do so much in that regard. Thats why I don't play them anymore.