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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 2863250" data-attributes="member: 22424">I don't think face-to-face roleplaying will ever truly disappear, as there are some things that an actual DM can offer that a computer just can't, notably the ability to move away from the hard-wired plot on an extended basis. I don't see it ever being possible to run a Spelljammer/d20 Modern/Steampunk crossover on a PC, for example, but doing it with an actual DM is relatively straightforward.That said, I do think the model of groups gathering to play games will become less and less common. Instead, I fully expect games to move to a mostly online format, especially as video chat programs become more common and more powerful. It's getting hard for a lot of groups to get together on a regular basis in realspace, and it's quite hard to find groups when you move to a new town. Move gaming online, and both of these problems disappear -there are so many players that finding an online group whenever you want to play becomes easier, and if you're playing in cyberspace then it makes little difference where in the world you are.So, I think RPG companies should maybe be looking very carefully at online roleplaying, and seeing what can be done to facilitate it. As far as I can see, what we need most are electronic battlemats, networked character management tools, and web-connected dice. (And better chat software, but that's coming anyway.)(The web-connected dice is a nice-to-have but non-essential part of the experience. Online dice rollers are okay, but nothing beats the feel of real dice. So, what you do is build some dice with value sensors and a Bluetooth link (or equivalent) embedded within. That way, you get to roll real dice, and the values are automatically sent to your DM. There is a pesky power issue to solve, but the technology is otherwise available - it just needs reduced in cost considerably.)On another topic, I think there's a great deal for companies designing a line to be deliberately limited. Very often, sourcebooks beyond the first don't sell anyway, and they add progressively less to the quality of the game anyway.Furthermore, I think companies should consciously try to stop expending more development energy than they need to. Specifically, this means that they shouldn't waste time developing new rules systems when an existing system would work just as well. (This, in turn, requires the likes of White Wolf, Wizkids and WEG opening their house systems, but in each case the core mechanic is so simple that there's not a lot lost in doing so. Also, 'opening' the system does not necessarily mean providing an SRD, or allowing them to reprint it wholesale - a license could be developed to allow use, but not reproduction, of the system. Why would they want to open the systems, and help their competitors? More core rulebook sales.)Finally, to continue existing, companies must either get their products on Amazon (or other big online stockists), switch to .pdfs, or do extremely limited, extremely pricey print runs. Of these, the pdf route is most likely to succeed. That being the case, in order to survive game stores will need to branch out from RPGs, stock only the big sellers (WotC and White Wolf, plus a few other things), make sure they don't sit on dead stock, and provide something to the gaming community that they can't get anywhere else (and charge for it). If game groups go online, I can't see what that might be, unless it is big tables on which to engage in massed minis battles (which isn't really a roleplaying thing anyway).</blockquote>

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