Where RPGs are headed (split)

[Factor 8]

This is why I pointed out KOL, because I believe that's where the ball is going next.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

The above post was split from The games formerly known as RPGs ....

Factor 8 is referring to computer games like MMORPGs and similar, in response to a post from Eric J.

Factor 8, it's perfectly all right for the discussion to continue from here. I think it's time, though, for me to point out a few things to you, which I'm doing publicly because we have so many new people at the Forge lately who are having a bit of trouble figuring out how this site works.

1. Please do not post to older threads. Feel free to start new ones with a link to the old one in your first post.

2. Make points that are relevant to the discussion, rather than "me too" or "yeah" or "no," or anything like that.

3. Dialogue at the Forge is slow. You may think you are being ignored, but not realize that many people read your post and are thinking about it, or deciding how it might relate to a thread they're active on. Do not post in expectation of spawning a huge thread; huge threads at the Forge usually mean something has gone wrong in the dialogue.

4. Check out all the stickies in this forum; they are full of important things.

Thanks,
Ron

[greyorm]

This is why I pointed out KOL, because I believe that's where the ball is going next.

Alright then, why do you believe that?

What makes you believe that pen-and-paper RPGs will be replaced by computer-focused RPGs, and specifically what about KoL makes you believe this (given the existance of games similar in type to KoL for over the last decade that have not yet replaced traditional pen-and-paper gaming)?

[daMoose_Neo]

I couldn't say that is the direction RPGs are going myself. There are alot of them, and more and more coming, but there are more limitations almost than a pen-and-paper.
PnP players generally like playing with one group of people whereas online gaming is more of a loner situation: you're either reacting or "interacting" with something posted quite some time ago (for play by post games) and have to wait a considerable amount of time for any meaningful response or you're adventuring with different groups every night you log on to an MMORPG. Timezones can really impact how players interact, especially if its for example, Sunday for Player A and middle of Monday for Player B.
With MMORPG's too, you have situations where you might be leveling faster or slower than the rest of the people you might travel with, on the off chance you DO have such a group. Given that, it limits how much you can interact with your circle of "friends", because they'll want to do things either you can't or are worthless for you to do.
MMORPG's also rarely have any kind of story or character (emotional or character concept development, not statistical) development. This will be a turn off to players who do enjoy seeing character development.
Then too, you have a syndrome where people really do enjoy playing, even if it is just the online games. They'll start researching other games and systems and realize "Hey! I can play this on my kitchen table too! And get my friends in on it!" And we then have yet another PnP game group born.

Will online/webbased games continue to grow? Yup. As technology advances so shall the games.
Will they replace PnP? Nope, not by a long shot. If anything, they'll fuel PnP play as well as design. Its almost a natural progression, from playing someone elses game and world, to playing someone elses game and your own world, to playing your own game and your own world. Players in the hobby long enoough will travel down that road.