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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 3279148" data-attributes="member: 3192">I think it will be cross-platform DM-run gaming.To really attack the MMORPGs and show their weaknesses, an RPG company out there is going to shift to the computer like no other has before.  Video/audio voip interface with the ability to custom design games like Neverwinter Nights is doing, but without all the heavy rules no one who plays NN wants to memorize.  Instead rulesets will be hidden and be upgradeable just like software is now.  A successful game adaptation will work across internet lines and with Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, PCs, and any other platform that will draw a profit.  Tabletop will not be dead however.  A good game will be able to shift from the video platform to the tabletop video display just like those who already hold LAN parties.  DM prep will change considerably.  Much of it will be written on computer and drag and drop methods of adding rules.  Published locales both professional and fan-based will be the new wave.  Software that helps the GM, basically big ticket items, will be one of several potential new sale areas.Having no GM or customization for games hurts MMORPGs.  Sure they have huge online communities, but I think traditional tabletop online will take a good portion of their business if they allow users to create their own content and run worlds for their own personal friends.  Putting that creativity into players hands is an awesome draw no matter how big the community online may be.  Anyways, I would bet DM-run software could just as easily port into national services akin to traditional online gaming.But what happens if you don't want to play with electronic gizmos and machines that give you images instead of using your imagination?  Pen and paper could still be played.  Any good system would include an easy printout of character stats.  DM notes and materials would alread be organized online for printout, if desired.  I think the failure of E-Tools and the still poor utilization of computers in tabletop RPGs have really hidden a golden opportunity.  Character builds are just the beginning.  Peanuts really.  Think about how much has shifted to computers over 30 years of gaming. Now think of how we use a logic system with over a 1000 pages of rules, one that's not automated on a computer for ease of use.  That's just crazy.Maybe White Wolf will have this capacity now?  I don't know.  Maybe it will be one of the massive computer game companies?  In any case, I can't see tabletop RPGs NOT moving closer to computer aids.</blockquote>

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