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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 5788217" data-attributes="member: 59082">This touches on the Big Question, which is whether TRPGs can achieve another Renaissance and flourish deep into the 21st century, or if they are on a not-so-slow downward spiral as Ryan Doomcey believes, a tiny little boat facing the incoming wave of accelerating technological development.We just can't know. One suggestion I would bring to the table is that the designers find a middle way between either trying to appeal to WoW players and making the game too &quot;WoWish&quot; and, on the other extreme, disawowing all things cyber. What needs to happen is that the unique strengths of TRPGs are pinpointed and nourished--namely, the play of the imagination and the social environment--and that technology is used as an enhancement of that organic experience rather than a replacement or simulation of it.In other words:A) Focus on Imagination and Social Experience (Co-storytelling) = GoodB) Focus on Simulated CRPG environment = BadC) Technology as enhancement = GoodD) Technology as replacement/simulation = BadAdding A and C together will lead to a healthy--if perhaps reduced--TRPG community and industry; but even if reduced, one that will remain vital for years to come. Adding B and D together will speed up the downward spiral that will lead to the TRPGs being nothing but a anachronistic hobby played by a few greybeards in 20 years.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 5788217, member: 59082"] This touches on the Big Question, which is whether TRPGs can achieve another Renaissance and flourish deep into the 21st century, or if they are on a not-so-slow downward spiral as Ryan Doomcey believes, a tiny little boat facing the incoming wave of accelerating technological development. We just can't know. One suggestion I would bring to the table is that the designers find a middle way between either trying to appeal to WoW players and making the game too "WoWish" and, on the other extreme, disawowing all things cyber. What needs to happen is that the unique strengths of TRPGs are pinpointed and nourished--namely, the play of the imagination and the social environment--and that technology is used as an [I]enhancement [/I]of that organic experience rather than a [I]replacement [/I]or [I]simulation [/I]of it. In other words: A) Focus on Imagination and Social Experience (Co-storytelling) = Good B) Focus on Simulated CRPG environment = Bad C) Technology as enhancement = Good D) Technology as replacement/simulation = Bad Adding A and C together will lead to a healthy--if perhaps reduced--TRPG community and industry; but even if reduced, one that will remain vital for years to come. Adding B and D together will speed up the downward spiral that will lead to the TRPGs being nothing but a anachronistic hobby played by a few greybeards in 20 years. [/QUOTE]

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