This.
Though I actually stopped playing CRPGs because the 'real thing' is so much more enjoyable. The time I spent playing CRPGs now goes into preparing for TTRPG sessions (and hanging around here
).
Why Play D&D?
- Thread starter Werebat
- Start date
Though I actually stopped playing CRPGs because the 'real thing' is so much more enjoyable. The time I spent playing CRPGs now goes into preparing for TTRPG sessions (and hanging around here
).
DragonLancer
Hero
Roleplaying is a social event. You get to sit around with other people, interacting directly, chatting, laughing...etc. With MMORPG's you sit on your own possibly talking to people you don't know via Skype and doing the same old pants over and over for hours on end.
My opinion is that we need to get people away from the computer and back around the gaming table.
My opinion is that we need to get people away from the computer and back around the gaming table.
Bold or Stupid
First Post
Stop trolling the troll
It's nice to see a thread that shows what we all have in common.
A huge need to justify out pastime.
IronWolf
blank
I purposely avoided WoW because I know how I can get with video games and would find myself way too wrapped up. Last year at some point I did pick up DDO when they went free to play. And sure enough - I played a lot! Stayed up too late, etc, etc. After awhile though I started to feel like a rat simply being trained to keep playing for each new virtual treat I received in game. I finally made myself take a one week break. After that point I didn't feel the strong desire to play. I actually installed DDO again about a month ago, fired it up and didn't get sucked in.
Anyways - I find D&D (and other RPGs) invoke more creative spirits from me. I think using my brain in that manner is more constructive and better for me. Plus, getting around a table with some friends without computer monitors or VoIP chat and having actual face to face communication is a good thing.
So D&D just scratches an itch that MMOs just can't do.
Anyways - I find D&D (and other RPGs) invoke more creative spirits from me. I think using my brain in that manner is more constructive and better for me. Plus, getting around a table with some friends without computer monitors or VoIP chat and having actual face to face communication is a good thing.
So D&D just scratches an itch that MMOs just can't do.
jonesy
A Wicked Kendragon
Holy Bovine
First Post
Impossible!
Haltherrion
First Post
LOL true. I don't think the young-uns realize how easy it is to pick them out, either
Rel
Liquid Awesome
I don't see any reason to limit myself to one or the other. As many others have observed, they offer different experiences as well as a few shared ones.
I will say up front that the notion that MMO's aren't social like TTRPG's is not my experience at all. I play MMO games with the same guys I play D&D with and we talk using Vent while doing so. Also there is a sense of camaraderie with us all being on the same team that I sometimes don't get at the gaming table where I'm frequently the GM.
My credentials as an RPG fan include having played for almost 30 years, written for Rolemaster and organizing a pretty darned successful local Game Day that has seen attendance by ENWorlder from all over the country. So in no way am I downing RPGs. But I think that there are things that MMO's offer that they do better than TTRPG's.
They handle combat mechanics extremely fast.
They let you try out lots of different character styles and builds in practice without taking up the gaming group's time.
They let you game when you want without relying upon the group as a whole.
They let you focus on playstyles that the group as a whole may not prefer by doing so on your own time. For example, if you really like PvP (which isn't supported in most TTRPG's that I've played) then you can go do so to your heart's content and still return on Saturday night to go explore dungeons with the rest of the group.
They let you explore something that you didn't have to create (again, as somebody who is frequently the GM, I like to get to play).
They let you fail. This one is actually one of the ones that interests me a lot. I like my RPGs to be challenging and I also tend to run games that can be very challenging (I earned my RBDM status). I hope that I have the challenge level dialed up to the point that the players think they are almost gonna die but then triumph. Sometimes a PC dies. Hopefully not too often because that kind of kills the fun for me if I have a constantly revolving cast of characters.
But with MMO games death is just going to happen to you once in a while. I like taking on a big challenge either solo or with my friends and getting my ass kicked once in a while. It tells me that I need to get more creative about my tactics or beware of something a particular bad guy is doing to kill my character. Some of my best moments in MMO gaming were losing a fight three times and managing to barely pull it out the fifth time. Course some of my worst times in MMO gaming were losing a fight six times and deciding that we just couldn't cut it. But that's the rub.
Anyway, I'm not suggesting that MMO's are for everybody. Clearly they just aren't some people's cup of tea. But I think it is silly to suggest that they offer no features that you can't achieve in a TTRPG. And, if you are fortunate in finding fun people to play with, it can be nearly as social an experience as sitting around the table. The drive is a lot shorter too.
I will say up front that the notion that MMO's aren't social like TTRPG's is not my experience at all. I play MMO games with the same guys I play D&D with and we talk using Vent while doing so. Also there is a sense of camaraderie with us all being on the same team that I sometimes don't get at the gaming table where I'm frequently the GM.
My credentials as an RPG fan include having played for almost 30 years, written for Rolemaster and organizing a pretty darned successful local Game Day that has seen attendance by ENWorlder from all over the country. So in no way am I downing RPGs. But I think that there are things that MMO's offer that they do better than TTRPG's.
They handle combat mechanics extremely fast.
They let you try out lots of different character styles and builds in practice without taking up the gaming group's time.
They let you game when you want without relying upon the group as a whole.
They let you focus on playstyles that the group as a whole may not prefer by doing so on your own time. For example, if you really like PvP (which isn't supported in most TTRPG's that I've played) then you can go do so to your heart's content and still return on Saturday night to go explore dungeons with the rest of the group.
They let you explore something that you didn't have to create (again, as somebody who is frequently the GM, I like to get to play).
They let you fail. This one is actually one of the ones that interests me a lot. I like my RPGs to be challenging and I also tend to run games that can be very challenging (I earned my RBDM status). I hope that I have the challenge level dialed up to the point that the players think they are almost gonna die but then triumph. Sometimes a PC dies. Hopefully not too often because that kind of kills the fun for me if I have a constantly revolving cast of characters.
But with MMO games death is just going to happen to you once in a while. I like taking on a big challenge either solo or with my friends and getting my ass kicked once in a while. It tells me that I need to get more creative about my tactics or beware of something a particular bad guy is doing to kill my character. Some of my best moments in MMO gaming were losing a fight three times and managing to barely pull it out the fifth time. Course some of my worst times in MMO gaming were losing a fight six times and deciding that we just couldn't cut it. But that's the rub.
Anyway, I'm not suggesting that MMO's are for everybody. Clearly they just aren't some people's cup of tea. But I think it is silly to suggest that they offer no features that you can't achieve in a TTRPG. And, if you are fortunate in finding fun people to play with, it can be nearly as social an experience as sitting around the table. The drive is a lot shorter too.
Weregrognard
First Post
All the video game/MMORPG bashing aside, I just don't think MMORPGs have reached a level where they do what D&D does "better" as the OP seems to imply with the snail mail/e-mail comparison.
In fact, I don't think MMORPGs are "better" than single-player RPGs. I have had way more fun playing games like Oblivion and Dragon Age than I ever had playing UO, Everquest, DDO, WoW, and the like.
If MMORPGs ever come closer to a Star Trek-like holodeck I can play alone or w/ friends, then I might hang up my dice bag...maybe
In fact, I don't think MMORPGs are "better" than single-player RPGs. I have had way more fun playing games like Oblivion and Dragon Age than I ever had playing UO, Everquest, DDO, WoW, and the like.
If MMORPGs ever come closer to a Star Trek-like holodeck I can play alone or w/ friends, then I might hang up my dice bag...maybe
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