How Will Technology Affect The Future Of Roleplaying
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I am not Nostradamus. If I was, I’d be out there betting on sports games and the stock market, rather than talking about the future of roleplaying. But I can’t help to think like Nostradamus may have thought and wonder what is in store for the future of roleplaying? More specifically, since I’m both a gamer and a tech nerd, how will technology affect the future of gaming?Online Gaming
No, I’m not talking about play-by-email or play-by-post campaigns. There are people out there right now roleplaying online using virtual tabletop software, such as Fantasy Grounds. It is an application that acts as a virtual online gaming table that is primarily intended for pen and paper style roleplaying games. It provides all the necessary tools to communicate, manage information, and perform tasks such as rolling dice or creating drawings. There are also other programs such as Screen Monkey that accomplish a similar thing. Or a more low-tech version is players logging on to a Ventrilo server and just chatting their way through roleplaying sessions.
I suspect with all of the technology that is already out there now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an application soon that combines video conferencing with a virtual tabletop that is specifically built for pen and paper roleplaying games. It could have modules built for the gamemasters and players that fit each different game they are playing. This would enables gamers from anywhere in the world to more effectively roleplay with each other.
CARPG
If you type “the future of roleplaying” into Google or Yahoo, you will most like get the following web link at, or near the top of your search – http://www.carpg.net/. As best as I can tell, this company is looking to digitize the gaming industry. While I’m not exactly sure what that means, I do know they have already partnered with White Wolf, Bastion Press, Mongoose Publishing, Green Ronin, Sovereign Press, Mystic Eye Games, Bard’s Productions, and MonkeyGod Enterprises. Their website is short on providing what they actually plan to do! But, it looks like we could be seeing a merger between technology and roleplaying through this company in the near future.
Technology Affects How Roleplaying Games Are Created
If you don’t believe that technology affects how roleplaying games are created, look no further than the effect World of Warcraft had on the latest incarnation of Dungeons & Dragons. If you don’t see any similarities between the two, then you can go ahead and skip past this section. I’m not going to jump on any bandwagons and say whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. What I am going to say is this; expect more things, like computer games and video games, to start seriously affecting how roleplaying games are being built.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see newer roleplaying games built that you have to log into a website to create your character. Or maybe there is another hit game out there that spawns its own roleplaying creation (has anyone played the World of Warcraft RPG?). Computer games, video games, and roleplaying games are so close together that you are going to start seeing more and more mixing there. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a video game based exclusively off a roleplaying system that is integrated into the pen and paper roleplaying game. Something similar to what Neverwinter Nights accomplished.
Technology Will Become More Prominent At The Gaming Table
I feel bad for the gamemasters that don’t like laptops at their gaming table. I’m telling you, it’s only going to get worse. You’ll have one guy doing all of his dice rolls on his iPhone, while another is creating a new character on his laptop since his current one just died, while the third is using a Kindle to look up combat rules. Then the next week you’ll be playing a futuristic game where the gamemaster uses his Xbox 360 to connect to his 50” television and connect those to Windows Vista on his laptop. Then he starts showing you pictures of where you’re gaming group is headed to on the 50” television, while playing video and audio clips through the same system. This is all stuff that my gaming group has done or thought about doing. And I’m sure there are a lot smarter and more creative gamers out there than us that have thought of dozens of more ideas that will make technology more prominent at the gaming table.
These are just some instances where technology has affected roleplaying in the past and is affecting roleplaying now.
How do you think technology will affect the future of roleplaying?
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May 6, 2009 at 8:16 am
They already have a video conferencing virtual table top, iTableTop. I saw it debut at GenCon two years ago, when it was still in beta.
And if you like the idea of integrating technology at the table, you should check out the interactive game table I highlight in my article below.
Mad Brew’s last blog post..Untapped Potential of Technology
May 6, 2009 at 9:53 am
Those same WoW developers developed the rules of their game utilizing the principles of Dungeons and Dragons. 4th Edition isn’t aping WoW so much as it’s returning to its roots. But I don’t see MMORPGs replacing the traditional P&P game, merely complementing them. Video gaming, even if it’s expansively multi-player, is an entirely different experience from table top role-playing. MMORPG, limited by the rules of the system. P&P, limited only by the rules the group agrees upon… and even those can be changed! This may be a weak analogy but I see MMORPGs, due to their immense popularity, as the behemoth multinational corporations and P&P RPGs as the flexible start-ups or even cottage industries.
Something you didn’t touch on was technology and its effect on the manufacturing of gaming pieces. Fifteen years ago, the intricately pre-painted plastic pieces of D&D/Star Wars Minis would have been completely cost prohibitive. After Hero Clix came onto the scene and developed the demand, WotC (along with Fantasy Flight [see Tannhauser's minis]) set a new standard for non-lead based table top strategy/role-playing. No longer do people have to shell out $8 for a lead mini when they can buy a plastic army for the same price. I would expect to see miniatures as a standard with any mainstream RPG along with three dimensional set pieces (crates, terrain, etc.) in the near future.
Something else that wasn’t mentioned was that technology allows for a quicker turn around time on materials along with higher quality artwork. Writers from different parts of the globe can simultaneously work on rules and artists using digital canvases can create full color spreads of maps and graphics. Remember when all you got with D&D were simple (and often crude) pen and ink sketches of monsters?
May 6, 2009 at 10:10 am
@ Mad Brew – I have iTabletop. Although it is good software, I was thinking something even more futuristic than it. It definitely does the job for face-to-face roleplaying in the confines of technology that we have now though.
@ Wesley Street – That’s a good point that I didn’t touch on how technology affects the manufacturing process. That’s mostly because I don’t know exactly how it does. I have never worked in the industry and don’t have that type of insight.
May 6, 2009 at 11:12 am
I saw a GM using Microsoft OneNote on one of his campaigns. I have since copied his approach and started using it myself along with the pdf’s. That’s probably the easiest way to introduce technology on the gaming table.
May 6, 2009 at 11:49 am
The article mentions virtual tabletop software like Fantasy Grounds and ScreenMonkey. I’ve compiled a list of over 40 such programs (some free, some commercial), for anyone who’s interested in comparing them. Check it out here: http://www.battlegroundsgames.com/links.html#anchor6
There’s also a link to a feature comparison chart that covers most of the popular programs.
May 6, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I’m hoping e-book readers will make inroads, but in a smart way. I want quick linking, smart indices, and easy searching. Paging through a flat-file isn’t any better than paging through a paper book, IMO.
May 7, 2009 at 2:27 pm
@ Cole – That is a first. I’ve never seen anyone use OneNote for RPGs. I’ll have to check it out since I actually already have that program on my laptop.
@ heruca – Thanks, heruca. Nice site and compilation of different useful lists for gamers.
@ Micah – I agree. I would like to be able to lay on the couch and use a reader, but it is no easier or harder than a book right now. So I don’t see an advantage to getting all the additional stuff until they make it worth my while.