Hussar
Legend
Figured I should add that little caveat to the title before people get the wrong idea. 
Just a quick response before I get to the meat of things.
OpenRPG can be a bit spammy at times with server messages intruding at the beginning and end of sessions with bits being added or removed from the program. Also, when people log in or out, there are generally messages spawned. The trimmed refers to the removal of those messages.
Anyway,
I freely admit that I have not played on a real tabletop for about three and a half years now. I have tried PbP and found that it wasn't for me. I simply lack the patience. The games that I tried were good and bad, but, in the end, I wasn't enjoying them.
Now, online chat based is a different story. For the past three and a half years, I've been DMing weekly and for the past two years, I was also getting a chance to play weekly as well. This was more weekly gaming than I had done since college. I recently stopped playing due to time constraints (adding a second baby to the house as well as work stuff) but I still DM my weekly games.
Online play is definitely different from tabletop. I thought I'd list the pros and cons of online play for those who have never tried it and maybe would like to. As I said, I use OpenRPG for my gaming and have now upgraded to OpenRPG+ (a side project by some of the OpenRPG devs).
Pros of Online Gaming
Cons
Would I drop my online game in favour of tabletop? Honestly, I don't know. If I could play tabletop with my current players, I would be a happy camper. But, OTOH, I know that I would miss the things that I can do with an online game - the images, sound files, instant linking to rules, that sort of thing. I don't think I could ever go back to gaming without a computer, that's for sure. I'd likely become one of those people with a projector hanging from his ceiling to try to get the best of both worlds.
Just a quick response before I get to the meat of things.
MarkCMG said:
OpenRPG can be a bit spammy at times with server messages intruding at the beginning and end of sessions with bits being added or removed from the program. Also, when people log in or out, there are generally messages spawned. The trimmed refers to the removal of those messages.
Anyway,
I freely admit that I have not played on a real tabletop for about three and a half years now. I have tried PbP and found that it wasn't for me. I simply lack the patience. The games that I tried were good and bad, but, in the end, I wasn't enjoying them.
Now, online chat based is a different story. For the past three and a half years, I've been DMing weekly and for the past two years, I was also getting a chance to play weekly as well. This was more weekly gaming than I had done since college. I recently stopped playing due to time constraints (adding a second baby to the house as well as work stuff) but I still DM my weekly games.
Online play is definitely different from tabletop. I thought I'd list the pros and cons of online play for those who have never tried it and maybe would like to. As I said, I use OpenRPG for my gaming and have now upgraded to OpenRPG+ (a side project by some of the OpenRPG devs).
Pros of Online Gaming
- Flexible time. This is perhaps one of the biggest things. As I live in Japan, finding gamers is pretty hard since I don't speak the local language. However, at pretty much any time, day or night, there is a game being run or players looking for a game. You can pick a time slot that is good for you and go with it.
- Resources. You are already on the internet and you have a computer in front of you while you game. My adventures are entirely written in OpenOffice (or Word), my maps are all JPEGs tweaked with Gimp. I have no need for minis, since I have the entire Internet at my fingertips with which to create them. Built in die rollers mean that combat is fast and easy. Also, setting up a gaming forum with people you game online with means that your players likely will check the forum. One of my players actually created a wiki for the game.
- Easier to stay "In Character". Since players are not face to face and likely don't really know each other outside of the game, ooc chatter is at a minimum and can be truly kept in the background with "whispers". In the same way, any player can whisper to the DM in hidden not fashion and the other players will be none the wiser. I find that most players become more immersive with their characters when they are not distracted by face to face contact.
Cons
- Inconsiderate Jerks. Probably the bane of my experience with online gaming are those players who spend a week or two asking a billion questions and getting lots of handholding to create a character, show up once and then vanish into the ether. It still completely boggles my mind that some people are apparently incapable of taking the thirty seconds out of their busy schedules of self contemplation to write a message saying, "Hey, thanks for the game. Sorry, it's not for me." ((Just a little bitter on this one))
- Software and Hardware Issues. This does come up and it comes up more than I like. Comes in all flavours and sizes as well. Players timing out, DM timing out, images causing SNAFU's, glitches, burps, and general confusion can lead to some serious frustration.
- Less personal. Let's face it. No matter how good the DM is, you're still staring at a computer screen. Sometimes players multitask when something isn't directly affecting them - web surfing for example. And, well, I do miss sitting around a table with a bag of cheezies and a bottle of root beer.
Would I drop my online game in favour of tabletop? Honestly, I don't know. If I could play tabletop with my current players, I would be a happy camper. But, OTOH, I know that I would miss the things that I can do with an online game - the images, sound files, instant linking to rules, that sort of thing. I don't think I could ever go back to gaming without a computer, that's for sure. I'd likely become one of those people with a projector hanging from his ceiling to try to get the best of both worlds.
