Have computer games ruined table RPGs?

[Dark Jezter]

So, until we get a "Matrix-style" VR system, where players can plug in and experience not only sight and sound, but taste, touch, and scent, then in-person tabletop games will always have an element that Computer games cannot have.

When that happens, then nobody will ever reach the adventuring segments of the VR RPGs because they'll spend all of their time trying to get the busty tavern wench into bed.

When VR technology reaches those levels, we all know what people will really use it for.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

IMHO, from what I can tell, it really hasn't impacted games as it has the attitudes of some gamers at the table.

Esp. with some CRPGs like Ultima, Baldur's Gate, & other single-player games, I think that this adds to some players focusing solely on their characters & what they can/can't do, & not necessarily in their role as part of a group/team. Also, it seems to add to the concept of the player's character being the "star" of the adventure/game/campaign, while everyone else winds up taking "supporting" roles.

OTOH (to another extreme), with games that have a sole player in charge of an entire party of PCs, it seems that some players try to take charge over the party, trying to direct the gameplay & development of the other characters.

Also, it does seem that some players don't take the tabletop games seriously--much in the same vein as a player simply messing around on a CPRG.

Of course, these are only worst-case examples, & aren't really the standard at all. However, I think that CRPGs can & do shape the attitudes of some gamers on what the gaming experience is supposed to be like.

 

[Impeesa]

Yeah, comparing the people I've dragged into RPGs, I've found that those who weren't big into computer games previously only took a few years for the basic rules to sink in. Compare that to the guy I brough into our game just last week, a hardcore computer gamer - took to it like a duck to water. Wait, what was the question?

Hungry, Hungry Hippys.

It's all that weed, gives you the munchies after a while.

--Impeesa--

 

[tarchon]

*sput* CGs ruined RPGS! Much the other way around - whatever happened to Pong and Space Invaders, dagnabbit? Can't shoot an alien anymore without hearing about how many hitpoints it's got... *curmudge* *curmudge*

 

[Psion]

Have computer games ruined table RPGs? I'm not talking about product vs. product, but rather the process, interaction and appreciation of people as they play the game.

As time passes, I'm seeing more and more references (here) to number-crunching, min-maximizing, strikeforce team tactics, and building new characters at higher levels. RPG character construction elements are becoming more like computer programing modules - plug in a new prestige class here, add a template there.(...)
This might be more apparent to old-school gamers with many years of experience, and even the young pups among us who have the most creativity. Am I way off base?

I have many years of experience, and I certainly do not think anything of the sort. I think back to 1e, where you had a dizzying array of weapon vs. AC modifiers that would really only be practical if it was being tracked by a computer. It seems to me many tabletop RPGs are more stripped of excess baggage which doesn't work to well at the table these days, if anything.

 

[pogre]

I think CPU games have done some things to change expectations. Everyone is more accustomed to asking about "balance issues" and other related issues. Not sure if that is a bad thing.

For me as a miniatures fan, CPUs are a long way off from replacing that part of the hobby.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

No, but they have ruined my players.

My main group of players suffers from "A button" syndrome. This is where they want a cool epic plot, lots of character interaction, a well weaved story full of intrigue, dynamic combat, witty repartee and highly personal events. However, they expect it to happen automatically, or rather, they take the approach that as soon as they 'hit the right button' these actions will begin to happen. Thus you end up with the apathetic fighter, the wizard who stays in his room all day, the cleric who never leaves the temple, the strong silent cleric and the 'adventurer' thief who wants a steady day job and avoids people.

However, this is an attribute of the people more than it is the game. When you get antisocial introverts together that's the sort of thing that happens. They're anti-social and introverted. Overexposure to computer games only did a little more re-enforcing of that set of behaviors. Actually, it probablly didn't even do that, so much as it created a higher set of expectations. Now there's the potential to do more than smack orcs around.

And that's not a bad thing at all. We just need to learn how.

 

[Pauper]

Have computer games ruined table RPGs? I'm not talking about product vs. product, but rather the process, interaction and appreciation of people as they play the game.

I don't think CRPGs have 'ruined' tabletop RPGs, but I do have one beef - I really dislike how the vocabulary of CRPGs has infected the tabletop games I play in.

The clerics all cast 'buffs' now, while the wizards 'nuke' and the fighters 'tank'. I'm waiting for the day the DM explains how we meet a group of 'toons' as we're 'zoning out of town'. Or worse, the party asking what the orcs in the distance 'con' to them...

--
Pauper

 

[Celtavian]

re

I think CRPG's, and the computer in general as well as the TV, have lessened the amount of time people spend reading. With player's that don't read, I have a real hard time creating a storyline campaign because they are into video game hack n' slash.

Even character creation seems to be focused on cool abilities rather than what is my character's motivation and personality. If all the player has focused on is what cool abilities his character will have, that doesn't give the DM much to focus on for that character.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

I do not really play that many Computer RPGs(Except for Morrowwind). I however do play a lot of Console RPGs. I actually enjoy them more than D&D. But for the original question, no I do not think they have ruined them, although some lingo has slipped trough from them.