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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bloodstone Press" data-source="post: 2280427" data-attributes="member: 12468">Yeah, clearly.  There was a time when it was easy to show that a PnP game was superior to a traditional video game. today that is a lot harder (but I’m about to do it anyway <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).  Go get a video game from the mid 90s or earlier and try doing something the programmer didn't plan for. Hell, get a current video game that is not a "live" game and see how versatile it is. Some are very versatile and “life-like” but they still fall short of the possibilities available in a PnP game. Just because video games have a larger market share, doesn't mean they are better or superior. It merely means they have better customer appeal.  Video games have broader market appeal because they are dumbed-down and simplified, just like hip-hop music and Paris Hilton. They appeal to the largest common denominator. That doesn't make them "better."Using that logic, McDonalds would be the most superior restaurant around... how many billions have they served now? That many people can't be wrong, right?  Yet, you and I can easily name restaurants that are clearly superior to McDonalds, right? PnP paper games require effort on the part of the players and that, compared to video games, is a level of difficulty that turns people off. I personally know several people that have abandoned PnP games for the x-box, simply because they get the same type of excitement (or better) for less effort. As video games become more advanced, more versatile, more interactive, more people will start to wonder what the reward is in spending all that time and effort to play a PnP game. PnP games and video games serve the same function in the market place and are therefore competitors. Yes, there are differences between them, but they serve the same purpose (recreational wargaming and/or "role playing").  When talking about the industry on these (En World) boards a year or so ago, Gary Gygax stated that “competition from video games is fierce.” So I’m not the only person who sees the market in these terms. I agree with your point, Warden, that PnP games do offer a lot more versatility to the game master, thus making them better tools for creativity. But I think that’s changing. Neverwinter Nights and other interactive games can be modified and scenarios for them can be designed by players. Shareware created by fans (skins, scererios, maps, etc) are also widely available. Plus, the live aspect of interactive games challenges PnP games in a way that no video game ever has before.   For what its worth, I personally hope that 4e includes some sort of optional software enhancement tool that is upgradeable (by the user), and works seamlessly with the core rules, making it sort of a hybrid PnP/console game.3e has stuff sorta like that now, but I'd really like to see the next generation be fully integrated with the game. Perhaps 4e will only be a PnP game for those who don’t have game consoles or those who prefer the “old school” method of gaming….   You could almost say that about 3e right now…..</blockquote>

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