Is the iPad the Messiah of Roleplaying?
Apple's iPad
When Apple unveiled their new multi-touch tablet device [1], the [horribly named] iPad, I watched as half of the internet sung praises of Apple to the heavens while the other half spoke of disappointment. In the tabletop roleplaying community, I saw a trend of tech-minded gamers [2] [3] hail the tablet as the messiah of digital roleplaying.
My personal opinion is, much like the internet, divided between praise and disappointment. However, I strongly disagree that the iPad will be the savior that shepherds tabletop roleplaying into the digital Promised Land. This article assumes there is such a place, but does not serve as an argument concerning any debate over whether there is, or is not, a digital paradise for tabletop roleplaying games.
Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary
Tablets are not new, and a good friend of mine has used his touch screen Lenovo ThinkPad tablet [4] as a digital library for gaming for last five years or more. It’s not as slim as an iPad, but it’s not unwieldy either. The iPad looks fantastic as a document reader, but I fear I wouldn’t be able to read any of my existing e-books on it nor could I transfer anything bought through their iBooks [5] app on any of my other devices.
Defective by Design Org
The iPad does offer a multi-touch display, but that is not new either. Regular (single) touch screens have been available on tablet notebooks for years and multi-touch became available on tablet netbooks [6] last year (primarily with the release of Windows 7 which supports multi-touch [7]). I do think that Natural User Interfaces are a revolution in computing, but the fact that the iPad uses it is not.
The iPad does offer an accelerometer, which is great for when you switch between landscape or portrait orientation and for video gaming. The base model (sans 3G and with only 16 GB of storage) did surprise me with its price of only $500. But it’s lack of support for Flash, incapacity to multitask, inability to install apps outside their app store, and Apple’s penchant for DRM [8] all prevent me from hopping aboard the iPad fanboy train (the lack of a camera or GPS doesn’t affect me though).
Besides, I think the Always Innovating TouchBook [9] does a good job of providing all the features of the iPad I like (sans multi-touch) while still being able to have control over my content/software for a $100 less ($200 less if you don’t want the attachable keyboard) and it’s been on the market since last fall.
iPad, the False Prophet?
If Apple’s tablet is not really anything new, can it still show the path to the digital nirvana of tabletop roleplaying? It’s possible, but the iPad would have some very big obstacles to overcome. First, this assumes there is a financially viable market of gamers that are looking, whether they realize it or not, for the Digital Promised Land of Roleplaying. Second, this market needs to be willing to purchase an iPad for this game or they need to have already purchased an iPad for other reasons (read: market penetration).
Third, there would have to be a company that would develop the platform and publish a game that targets this market. But just targeting the iPad wielding digital roleplaying pilgrims would not be enough. The game would have to be fucking awesome. So awesome, people are blinded by its divine light when they play it. What is more, this divine game would still have to be a roleplaying game (preferably one that meets my definition [10]), because that is the only way it could urge the rest of the tabletop roleplaying industry to embrace such a platform… which would truly make Apple’s tablet a messiah.
I do not see all the previously mentioned components becoming a reality; therefore, I do not believe the iPad is the Messiah of the Digital Promised Land of Roleplaying. At best, it is another herald that whispers in the ears of technophile gamers and Macphiles. Publishers looking at utilizing tablet devices to enhance or facilitate tabletop roleplaying would be best served at developing device agnostic platforms that can support any web browser.
Regardless of its impact on tabletop roleplaying, it’s sleek form factor and price point is an important harbinger for things to come in the world of web and document devices.
References
[1] Apple unveiled the multi-touch iPad tablet device Wednesday, January 27th, 2010.
[2] The Apple iPad: It Will Change the Way We Play. The Core Mechanic. 2010-01-27.
[3] Is iPad a Game-Changer. ICv2. 2010-01-28.
[4] The Lenovo ThinkPad multi-touch tablet.
[5] Apple’s iBooks, a storefront/app that provides e-pub format books for purchase.
[6] The ASUS T91MT is a tablet netbook with an 8.9” multi-touch display for $484.
[7] MultiTouch Capabilities in Windows 7. MSDN Magazine. 2009-08-01.
[8] A Look at Apple’s Love for DRM. Ars Technica. 2010-01-04.
[9] The Always Innovating TouchBook is a touch screen tablet with an accelerometer.
[10] RPP 101: Defining Roleplaying Games. Mad Brew Labs. 2009-01-15.
Listening to: Machine Head – The More Things Change… – Take My Scars
Pathfinder Infantry Feats
These feats are inspired by some ideas I have had about reach weapons (which probably are not new) and some feats I encountered while playing in my first Conan RPG game this last weekend (which was pretty fun I should add).
Infantry Tactics
You have been trained to fight in formation and function as a unit. Such training instructs combatants to protect the soldiers next to them and to move in unison.
Benefit: If you and an ally with this feat are adjacent to one another, you both receive a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC as well as to attack rolls. Multiple adjacent allies with this feat do not provide additional bonuses.
Improved Infantry Tactics
You have mastered the technique of fighting in formation.
Prerequisite: Infantry Tactics.
Benefit: The bonus gained from having adjacent allies with the Infantry Tactics feat improves to +2.
Pole & Shield
Elite phalanx units have been trained to control their shield while wielding polearms and spears.
Prerequisite: Str 13, Infantry Tactics, Shield Proficiency, Weapon Proficiency (chosen polearm).
Benefit: You may wear a heavy shield and gain half its shield bonus to your AC when wielding glaives, guisarmes, halberds, longspears, pikes, ranseurs, or spears.
Normal: Without this feat, you cannot wear shields while using a two-handed weapon.
Rebuffing Reach
You have learned to keep opponents from getting within the reach of your polearm.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (chosen polearm).
Benefit: Anytime you are wielding a glaive, guisarme, halberd, longspear, pike, ranseur, or spear and succeed with an Attack of Opportunity for an enemy moving through spaces you threaten, instead of dealing full damage, you may choose to deal half damage and push the target 5 feet away from you.
Listening to: Demons & Wizards – Touched by the Crimson King – Terror Train
Obsidian Ossuary
I colored a bit outside the lines with this wondrous item for Pathfinder RPG. It has some rather complex rules going on and I’m not sure how game breaking it is. It’s a risky item to introduce for sure, unless you don’t have any aspiring necromancers.
Obsidian Ossuary
Aura strong necromancy; CL 16th
Slot –; Price 180,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
DESCRIPTION
This foot long cylinder is fashioned from the blackest obsidian about three inches in diameter and is capped by two small infernal skulls of silver. It is also embossed with intricate silver filigree that contains imagery of two skeletal hands gripping the cylinder from opposite directions. It is filled with the powdered remains of an osyluth (bone devil) skull.
The ossuary may be used as the focus to cast animate dead. When an animate dead spell is cast using the ossuary, the caster does not need the material component and there is no longer a 25 gold piece restriction per Hit Die limitation. The spell is also treated as if it were cast within an area affected by desecrate (doubling amount of Hit Dice worth of undead created).
Additionally, while the caster is in physical possession of the ossuary, the Hit Dice worth of undead he can control is doubled. However, the additional amount allowed may only be applied towards undead created with an animate dead cast with the ossuary as the focus. Furthermore, all undead under the control of someone physically possessing the ossuary gain a +2 profane bonus to attack rolls, damage roll, and saving throws as well as +2 hit points per Hit Die.
The ossuary gains its strength from those who possess it. Anyone in physical possession of the ossuary has his current and maximum Hit Points are reduced by half. Upon the moment someone gives up physical possession of the ossuary, their original maximum (but not current) Hit Points are restored.
CONSTRUCTION
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, desecrate, unhallow; Cost 90,000 gp
Listening to: In Flames – A Sense of Purpose – Disconnected
Social Media RPG Platform
Social Networked RPGs
What would the architecture of a social media enhanced roleplaying game look like? This article attempts to answer that question as well as provide some ideas on how to implement comparable controls across many dissimilar social networks. This is a continuation of the discussion initiated by Jonathan Jacobs with a post at The Core Mechanic[1] and my response[2] from yesterday. If you haven’t read the first two articles, I encourage you to read them before continuing.
In Bridging the Gap, I explored the possibilities of how to embed a roleplaying game into social networks while still maintaining the elements which define roleplaying games. Today, I wanted to look at the technical hurdles of actually implementing such a game.
Core Technology
There would need to be a central hub where users would create accounts (and register the social networking accounts of their choice). This would ideally be a website (with a mobile version) that would offer the most powerful and comprehensive tools available for the game: character generators, virtual table top, chat, audio/video conferencing, campaign wiki, searchable databases of resources (rules, monsters, character options), etc. It would be the DDI[3] that should have been.
Network Penetration
One of the goals of a social media roleplaying game (SMRPG) would be to hook into as many social networks as possible. This has two large advantages: presence and accessibility.
Wide network penetration would establish a highly visible presence that can help draw users in. Game data presented across networks would obviously be branded (think about an “updated from SMRPG 5 minutes ago” tag), so anyone playing the game would be advertising it for free. Even though the platform would have at least some monetization, the goal is not about money, it is about building a user base (the money comes a natural by-product).
The accessibility means that players can retrieve information in the fashion which most suits their current online behavior. It means they don’t need to create yet another account or buy into the latest cell phone fad or purchase expensive data packages. Chances are they will already have something that works with the platform.
There are also a number of social media networks that would not necessarily enable player participation but rather could be used as tools to enhance the game itself. Examples include embedding custom movies you have uploaded to YouTube for introduction or cut scenes (like a custom Star Wars Crawl[4]), taking advantage of Pandora[5] or Last.FM[6] for mood music, or using Flickr[7] to host maps. These social media networks can be instrumental in offloading both functionality as well as storage space, making the platform cheaper to host.
Functionality Limitations
Of course, the more networks the platform hooks into, the problems with maintaining equivalent functionality across those networks. The Application Programming Interfaces (API) will not support the same functions and some networks will be more powerful than others.
It would definitely be a challenge to be able to replicate all the controls that are available on the Facebook[8] SMRPG widget in Twitter[9]. For one, there are a few dozen clients that people use to interact with Twitter and asking them to use a new client might not be easy.
Yet, Twitter might be able to be used as a primitive command line interface for an SMRPG. I can imagine utilizing keyword hash tags to accomplish actions that are recognized by the game engine. Of course, Twitter could also just be used as a text dump that the game uses to publish concise descriptions of current game activity. Obviously, the platform would need to understand each network’s strength (comprehensive communication is not one of Twitter’s strong suits).
Platform Components
The diagram to the right illustrates very simplified, top level view of a possible SMRPG platform. Each block is really a distinct architecture that would likely be comprised of several smaller modules. The foundation of the platform would be a massive database which would store all the characters, current progress, adventures, activity logs, images, rules, and whatever else necessary to run and record games.
The next layer up from the database is the business logic, which in this case is the game engine which validates of all the data coming in and out of the database against the rules and saved user preferences. The logic makes sure Suzie’s action resolves before Larry’s because she has the better initiative (or waits for GM approval before continuing).
The layer above the game engine is dual interpreters; one that handles incoming traffic and one that handles outgoing traffic. These interpreters ensure that the data received from the client interface is formatted in into something the database will understand and vice versa.
Everything up to and including the interpreters would most likely be built within the database itself using a combination of stored procedures, triggers, and data transformations all reacting to inbound and outbound data. The next layers would most likely be services or daemons that wait to relay information to the appropriate destination(s).
The client interface communicates with the social networks asynchronously, sending and receiving information as needed. The interface would likely be comprised of processes that interface with network APIs. Finally, the very top layer is the social media networks themselves which may or may not need additional front end user interfaces (most like things like Facebook widgets).
Conclusion
My possible SMRPG platform is essentially a product of quick and minimal brainstorming and I thought of additional detail and design improvements as I was writing the article. A project of this scope really would entail a lot of work and starting capital to really apply the support needed to launch such a platform. Thus, I wouldn’t expect to see anything like this realized from with the traditional roleplaying game industry.
The Core Mechanic continues the discussion of social media and roleplaying games in Social Media Role Playing Minigames.
References
[1] Roleplaying Games, Social Media Games, and the Shared Fence. The Core Mechanic. 2010-01-12.
[2] Bridging the Gap: RPGs and Social Media. Mad Brew Labs. 2010-01-14
[3] Dungeons & Dragons Insider, an online suite of tools available for subscription.
[4] Ten Minute Star Wars Crawl. Mad Brew Labs. 2008-09-21.
[5] Pandora, automated music recommendation and Internet radio service.
[6] Last.FM, an internet radio and music video site.
[7] Flickr, an image and video hosting site.
[8] Facebook, a social networking site.
[9] Twitter, a micro-blogging service.
Listening to: Tyler Bates – 300 OST – The Hot Gates
Bridging the Gap: RPGs and Social Media
Social Networked RPGs
The Core Mechanic proposed[1] that an opportunity exists for RPGs to utilize the technology that popular social media games (SMGs), such as Farmville or Mafia Wars[2], employ today and by extension make RPGs more accessible. The objective is the ability to roleplay around the clock without needing to wait for game night.
While I think Jonathan and I have some different ideas about what constitutes a roleplaying game[3], and how well one can be managed through social media, I do agree that there is a ton of opportunity that begs to be exploited. Also, I’m tired of seeing what your gangster vampire grew on the farm to feed his endangered species pet whenever I check my news feed on Facebook.
My only concern is providing the accessibility, the interactivity, and social media penetration without the roleplaying game reduced to a mere SMG or massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). The human element needs to be preserved; it is probably the most important aspect of roleplaying games.
Assuming the integrity of what is a roleplaying game is maintained, there are still many issues to overcome. For the remainder of this article, it is given that the following exists:
- The platform is built around a single game system
- Human Game Masters supervise games
- Many rules are automated, but may be selectively overridden by a GM
- Game Masters may list their games publicly
- Player characters have some sort of advancement
- Players may interface with the game through many clients (browser, Facebook, iPhone, etc.)
The Accessibility Hurdle
Probably the biggest issue facing an infrastructure that allows the level of accessibility that social media games provide is maintaining a consistent experience for players (including Game Masters). Jonathan had mentioned in the comments that “The game is always moving forward, and there’s never any point in which a player can’t “poke” the game and participate.” [1]
This is where the entire platform breaks down when I try to visualize it in my head. The idea, as I understand it, is that a player should be able to engage with the game at will and without any expectations of commitment. What about when a game is half-way through an important combat or a serious interaction with a prominent non-player character (NPC)?
Accessibility raises a few questions about what behaviors are acceptable or encouraged:
- Do you want players to enter or leave important scenes at will?
- Can players use the same character across many games and enjoy all the benefits?
- Are players free to perform actions without waiting for approval or consequences?
- Are players allowed access to any and all options?
- Is everyone at once both a player and a Game Master?
Of course, it all depends on how far accessibility is taken. If the goal is truly to provide players the ability to game at their convenience, without taking others’ stakes in the game into consideration, I think the game then crosses the line into SMG territory.
However, if the goal is to merely provide multiple lines of communication and methods of accessing the game, then I am on board. Then the next question is, “Would placing a ShareThis[4] feature on MapTools[5] accomplish most of our goals?”
Mini Games Option
One approach to lightly embed a roleplaying game into social media is to implement mini games that do not require moderation by Game Masters, but could be amended by them and add value to the actual game. These mini games might include tasks normally glossed over in most games such as researching inside a great library which could yield access to rituals in game. The majority of crafts could be given this treatment as well stronghold building.
Virtual LARP Option
Another method that possibly maximizes player accessibility while minimizing interruptions during critical play is treating the platform like a Live Action RolePlaying (LARP) game in the spirit of White Wolf’s Mind’s Eye Theatre (MET)[6] series of games run by the Camarilla[7].
Using the LARP option would most likely utilize two modes of play, structured and unstructured. The structured mode is the traditional roleplaying with a Game Master moderating the session. The unstructured mode would essentially be one or more players engaging in self-moderated roleplay. An option might even be available that allows players engaging in unstructured play to request a GM to moderate when necessary.
Only by participating in the structured mode can players receive new objects (treasure) and progress through official storylines. However, players may always trade objects they already acquired when participating in either structured or unstructured modes.
Like the Camarilla, the platform would be a shared world where you can travel from game to game (mostly) freely. Limiting GMs to only official modules (or stories, adventures, etc.) would allow a modicum of control over balance and power creep (which will no doubt be a constant struggle to maintain). Placing restrictions on when players can enter structured mode play and wait periods to join after bailing from structured mode play could also help maintain consistent experience.
The LARP option actually begins to sound like a very advanced MUSH[8] and there are probably a few things that such a platform could heavily borrow from such established technologies.
Conclusion
I’m not sure my vision of possible implementations concurs with Jonathan’s vision, but I think we can surely agree that there are opportunities for roleplaying games to take advantage of social technologies. Tomorrow I plan on taking a look at how one might develop an infrastructure that actually interfaced with popular social networks.
Articles that continue the discussion:
- Social Media RPG Platform — Mad Brew Labs
- Social Media Role Playing Minigames — The Core Mechanic
I should also note that using footnotes is a great idea and I actually tried to make a habit of using them a year ago with my Roleplaying Philosophy series[3] but failed to maintain the discipline to use them.
References
[1] Roleplaying Games, Social Media Games, and the Shared Fence. The Core Mechanic. 2010-01-12.
[2] Social media games for Facebook created by Zynga Games.
[3] “A roleplaying game is a dynamic form of play, structured by rules with human moderation, where players assume and develop virtual roles of sentience and overcome opposition by freely improvising character actions in order to achieve a possibly infinite number of goals.”
RPP-101: Defining Roleplaying Games. Mad Brew Labs. 2009-01-15.
“The only requirement is that you play a game where you assume the role of a PC/avatar. The medium doesn’t matter – it’s the role that matters.” [2]
[4] ShareThis is a plug-in that allows you to post content across several social networks.
[5] A virtual table top (VTT) created by RPTools.
[6] Mind’s Eye Theatre is the LARP imprint of rules for White Wolf’s Word of Darkness setting.
[7] The Camarilla is the official World of Darkness fan club that also doubles as White Wolf’s organized play arm.
[8] A Multi-User Shared Hallucination, or MUSH, belongs to a family of text-based social games also called MUDs and MOOs that date back to 1975.
