Game Fuel Contest – Win Free Stuff!
-
Mountain Dew has introduced Game Fuel, two limited-time-only flavors inspired by the MMORPG, World of Warcraft. Although Roleplaying Pro primarily discusses pen and paper roleplaying games, I’ve known a gamer or two that likes to drink soda… okay, maybe more than two. I also know a few roleplayers that play video games and PC games. So if you’re a gamer that likes soda and gaming stuff, read further for contest details!
Contest:
To enter the contest and be eligible win, enter a comment to this post. In your comment, tell us how you think MMORPGs have affected pen and paper RPGs, or vice versa.The contest will end on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time).
(Extended the end date from the 15th to 22nd due to GenCon – See Comments)
At the end of the contest period, three contest entrants will be selected by the Roleplaying Pro staff. The three most insightful comments, as determined by the Roleplaying Pro staff, will be declared the winners. This contest is designed to spark a meaningful discussion on the topic. Both positive and negative opinions are welcomed as long as they are done in a respectful and constructive manner.Prizes:
Three winners will be selected by the Roleplaying Pro staff for the most insightful comments on how MMORPGs have affected pen and paper RPGs.All three winners will receive the following prizes…
- Game Fuel soda pack (3 sodas of each flavor – 6 sodas total)
- Game Fuel limited edition t-shirtRules:
There will be only one entry per person, but you can comment multiple times if you so desire. Once the contest ends and the three winners are chosen, we’ll contact them via e-mail. We’ll need a physical address to give to the YouCast Corporation in order for them to send the prizes to the winners. All information will be strictly used for contest purposes and nothing else.Additional Information:
You can visit the Mountain Dew Game Fuel site and sign up for a chance to win other great gaming prizes every 15 minutes, including Alienware notebooks, Razer peripherals and cool World of Warcraft gear. You can also get a free 14-day-trial of World of Warcraft, or an in-game battlebot pet.Legal Stuff:
All prizes for this contest at Roleplaying Pro are being provided through the YouCast Corporation. Three winners will be randomly chosen by Roleplaying Pro and their information sent to the YouCast Corporation. Roleplaying Pro cannot guarantee delivery and assumes no responsibility for the prizes. The YouCast Corporation is responsible for sending the prizes to the winners.
Leave a Comment
August 13, 2009 at 5:52 am
MMORPGS use many concepts from the earliest days of tabletop RPGs – hit points, experience, levels, classes.
It has come full circle now, because popular MMORPGS strongly influence the current edition of Dungeons and Dragons (4th edition). D&D 4E even uses a class ported over from World of Warcraft.
In many ways, MMORPGS are the evolution of tabletop RPGS. As the technology becomes more powerful, it will allow more immersion and therefore, MMORPGS will become more like tabletop RPGS through each iteration.
August 13, 2009 at 8:13 am
Like Rich said, MMOs and Table Top RPGs seem to be part of the RPG Circle of Life if you will.
*cue Elton John music*
I’m no expert on the matter, but to me, it seems that MMOs were birthed from (Or heavily inspiried from) the world of Table Top. Perhaps folks thinking “Hey. I can do this sort of thing online”. Eventually growing into MMOs we know of today. Then, those designing Table Top games (4e being the most obvious) looked at MMOs and went “Hey, they might be on to something”. And round and round it goes.
Opinions will vary, but to me, I think, in some ways, they’ve benefited from one another, constantly learning from what the other is doing and evolving if possible.
August 13, 2009 at 9:22 am
The expanding popularity of MMORPGs has made them a huge marketing force. That has helped open the market for more accessories and products that are useful for traditional pen and paper RPGs such as miniatures and figures. More exposure to fantasy settings, like those in many MMORPGs helps make traditional RPGs more mainstream and helps broaden the appeal for new and curious gamers.
What few people consider about MMORPGs is that at their core, this type of on-line game depends greatly on the fundamental skills that all good pen and paper game masters need; solid world design, player/character appeal, and most of all good storytelling. On-line games have the added technical complexity of a global IT network, but without these three key parts, the games quickly lose their appeal. Good story arcs from video games easily find their way to traditional table top games and many old RPG modules have been adapted to the on-line world. The games with the best stories, lore, history, and characters have the interest of players and the most potential for continued success, no matter if they are electronic or printed.
I do not doubt that many MMORPG designers grew up as traditional gamers and I hope the trend for good storytelling continues long into the future since it improves both types of games.
August 13, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I think there is something to be said for both sides, and it’s not all positive. People coming from MMORPG to tabletop (and that’s the usual way these days) come with a lot of the trappings associated with them that don’t translate too well to the table as that is what they think roleplaying is about. Because in a MMORPG, there’s quite a bit of solitary play (despite guilds and that) you can have players who simply see the roleplaying game purely existing for their own benefit and don’t go along with anyone else.
This also translates to GMing too, like sending players on meaningless quests that are played completely straight and without any possibility for creativity. Of course, the Railroading DM has always existed to some extent but here somtimes it cannot be seen as bad policy.
Lastly, because a lot of the “work” in roleplaying (understanding the mechanics, calculating rolls and penalties) is done for you in an MMORPG, there’s a sort of laziness. How can I attract people to my game when they except me to roll and add up for them? That’s their job!
August 13, 2009 at 5:56 pm
@ All – I extended the end date from the 15th to the 22nd. I did this due to the fact that GenCon is going on from the 13th-16th, and I wanted to give the contest a little more time.
@ Rich Rogers – I agree, I think the relationship has come full circle. I can remember the old, old, old Might & Magic games having a similar setup to original D&D. Now I see D&D 4e taking a very MMORPG approach to the way they’ve built this edition of the game. It actually works for me, because I like both pen and paper RPGs and MMORPGs.
@Geekbob – I definitely think they have benefited from each other. The one argument that I see coming from pen and paper gamers that DON’T like MMORPGs is that they don’t want MMORPGs influencing their roleplaying games. Unfortunately, I think it is just the nature of the beast. The two are entwined and anyone who doesn’t like that is going to be disappointed.
@ SirGryphon – Yup, I think a good GM, or even player, could make a good game designer. Usually you just need that same creative mind behind it. I know a lot of game designers are getting to be real young and coming straight out of the new game design colleges, but the core elements are still the same – Creative people building creative worlds and storylines.
August 13, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I read the above but for the sake of writing my own quality post I’m going to just write my own without regard to the others.
The effects of Table-top roleplaying games on MMORPG’s is really more in the birth and motivation of the games themselves. The first MMO’s were truly more focused to roleplayers and gave you the nearly limitless possibilities that you expected in the table-top games that you had been playing already for years.
You can see the influences of MMORPGs in many games. I’ll choose the current most popular game: D&D 4E. There are quite a few ideas that have been influenced from their previous forms, for example;
Classes – they all have different “builds” so to speak. You have a Two-blade Ranger or an Archer Ranger.
Abilities – You started to see abilities with “cooldowns” so to speak. Daily powers or encounter powers whereas many popular MMO’s have just plain time limits before you could use the more powerful abilities.
Game Focus – Even the game focus (if you just read the books) has changed a little bit to seem a bit more combat focused.
In essence I think that there was a lot of influence back and forth from the release of the first MMORPG’s but all in
August 14, 2009 at 8:59 am
all the progress on both sides has gone from having very few limits to having quite a few limits and guidelines.
(sorry for the weird posting on a laptop that decided to randomly post it for me earlier.)
August 17, 2009 at 8:17 am
MMORPGs owe much of their existence to the pen and paper games. But they do something the pen and paper games couldn’t. They bring old gaming groups back together. Those that don’t have the time to build worlds on their own anymore. Don’t have time to gather in one location, and/or are geographically dispersed. Allowing them to sit around a virtual table and engage in the gaming they love.
August 21, 2009 at 10:16 am
I am new to online video gaming. My fiance introduced me to video gaming 3 years ago, but I remember friends playing D&D back in the day.
In my opinion, based solely on playing only MMORPG’s, I love being able to meet other people around the world and interact. My first MMORPG was FFXI, I worked from home so it allowed me to play almost 16 hours a day along side my fiance. It brought us alot closer and I met alot of people that spent as much time as I did on crafting and fighting.
I Love MMORPG’s.
Best RPG on the market currently is Demon’s Souls. It is coming to US in October but you can import it right now, it is in English. This is a rogue RPG, but it has online. Check it out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon‘s_Souls
August 22, 2009 at 5:06 am
Thank you all for your entries and the discussion. About one more day left and then the submission process will be over. I’ll choose the three winners, contact for their information, and send it off to the YouCast Corporation. Stay tuned to see the final winners! Good luck everyone.
August 23, 2009 at 1:29 am
Congratulations to Rich Rogers, SirGryphon, and Bryan. Thank you everyone for participating in the contest.