The Future of Computers in D&D

[Vascant]

Coming from personal experience as the person who developed NPC Designer, an npc generator for 3.5. I think it would depend more on what part of the game you were trying to replace the human interaction with computer interaction. Mark CMG and I basically use computers the same with regard to how we handle gaming, they are used to make my job as a DM easier. Since I never changed to 4e, I have had quite a few years to develop software specifically to resolving different challenges I wanted to shift over to the computer. I couldn't imagine not having a computer to prep for or run a game these days.

Personally speaking my goal is not for a computer to be able to replace a DM but rather be able to create quality content for a DM to use.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I doubt computers will ever replace GMs, but I think they will take on many of the tasks GMs have to perform (record keeping, mapping, NPC design, organization). Right now computers are too expensive and fragile for me to justify taking my laptop to sessions (or even having them on the table where soda can spill). I use my computer for work, so I wouldn't want to risk damaging it to play a game.

 

[Weregrognard]

When Artificial Intelligence TRULY arrives... a lot of things will change... and RPGs (if the still exist in a somewhat relevant form) will not need a DM no more.... but we are still faaaaar from that...

When the Singularity happens, we will be D&D and D&D will be us.

 

[Aeolius]

When Artificial Intelligence TRULY arrives... a lot of things will change... and RPGs (if the still exist in a somewhat relevant form) will not need a DM no more.

On the contrary, when AI is incorporated into D&D, we DMs won't need players anymore.

 

[Hand of Evil]

the only thing I see the computer do, or should I say iPads, will become the new DM screens.

 

[tomBitonti]

Given that D & D, or any RPG for that matter, is primarily a social event, the replacing of a key player (the GM) by a bit of hardware/software is rather unlikely.

If it does go that way, aren't you really playing an CRPG then?

Agree, and disagree.

At a recent con, I had a chance to play in a scheduled crawl. The particulars of the scenario are not important. What is important is that the GM used tracking software to handle the map and player positions, and player rolls (including damage).

I found the experience to be offsetting: The GM described the situation by pointing at the display. Was like pulling teeth to get more descriptive information about the scene. Attacks were very underwhelming. Even with five attacks (main/main-5/main-10/shield/shield-5) my attack was over in an instant, summarized down to a single damage amount (which I even had to ask for).

Maybe a bad GM, but I see a trend for folks to make more use of software. (The disagree part.)

On the other hand, I wholly agree that, as a social game, the mode of interaction is a part of the game, as is dice rolling, and having more of a verbal description of situations.

Tom

 

[Crazy Jerome]

When Artificial Intelligence TRULY arrives... a lot of things will change... and RPGs (if the still exist in a somewhat relevant form) will not need a DM no more.... but we are still faaaaar from that...

By whatever measuring stick you choose to use, on the day we get the capacity for real artificial intelligence, we also get the capacity for real artificial stupidity. So the more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[BriarMonkey]

Agree, and disagree.

...

Yeah... I fully acknowledge that more tools are making their way to the table, and I am okay with that - to a point. I think some of those tools are absolutely wonderful and can make the life of a GM easier.

But, as you note, the pure reliance on those tools, with no GM (or player as the case may be) input, is a bad thing. Which is why I noted that if such tools replace the GM entirely, you're just playing a computer game.

Unfortunately, in every pursuit, people use crutches so they don't have to put much into what they are doing. Which is why PowerPoint gets such a bad rap.

 

[Janx]

the only thing I see the computer do, or should I say iPads, will become the new DM screens.

live character sheet handling is nice on my iPad. I used to use Excel on my laptop. Then I moved it to Numbers on my iPad.

Very nice and easy enough to use. A good dedicated app could be better, but I had full technical control to correct/adjust things.

On my spreadsheet, every spell, skill, and feat is hyperlinked to d20srd.org. So it makes it easy to look up how to do stuff that I want to do.

I don't tend to surf while gaming, so it wasn't a distraction for me. My friend actually apologized to the group once, because he was getting distracted by FB and not paying attention to the game on his laptop.

As a GM, I've been using software to help generate conttent since 1990. Including software I wrote in HS on the Apple IIe.

I'm not sure I could ever get it to generate a full adventure, but generating a dungeon, generating the monsters in each room (with stackblock) is easy.

Generating a town, and then all the NPCs for the town (w/ stats, gear) and their names is also easy.

At that point, one has a sort of sandbox effect (generate all the basic world content then let the PCs do what they will).

I use a number of generators and paste their content into the Word document that will become the adventure. Since I seldom put ink in my printer, I actually tend to run off my laptop from the Word document.

 

[IronWolf]

Agree, and disagree.
At a recent con, I had a chance to play in a scheduled crawl. The particulars of the scenario are not important. What is important is that the GM used tracking software to handle the map and player positions, and player rolls (including damage).

I found the experience to be offsetting: The GM described the situation by pointing at the display. Was like pulling teeth to get more descriptive information about the scene. Attacks were very underwhelming. Even with five attacks (main/main-5/main-10/shield/shield-5) my attack was over in an instant, summarized down to a single damage amount (which I even had to ask for).

Maybe a bad GM, but I see a trend for folks to make more use of software. (The disagree part.)

Yeah - that would not have been much fun. There is a line between using tools to make DMing easier and crossing that line and taking the fun away from the players.

Even when I use VTTs I still describe the rooms and such to players and you always want the players rolling dice and stuff - not the DM.

Sounds like you just had a person that crossed the line with the blending of technology to the point he was treading on the player's fun.