What is special, to you, about role playing games?

crkrueger · July 13, 2010, 05:57:16 PM

Quote from: jeff37923;393604Fixed your typo.

It's a good thing for Wonder Woman that Kal-El wasn't born in Cimmeria.

Insufficient Metal · July 13, 2010, 06:14:32 PM

Quote from: CRKrueger;393611It's a good thing for Wonder Woman that Kal-El wasn't born in Cimmeria.

Man, I'm not much of a comics geek, but if someone wrote that comic, I'd totally read it.

jeff37923 · July 13, 2010, 06:18:56 PM

Quote from: Insufficient Metal;393613Man, I'm not much of a comics geek, but if someone wrote that comic, I'd totally read it.

Ditto.

beejazz · July 13, 2010, 06:43:57 PM

1) Social hobby.
2) No limits (except those imposed by 1, 3, 4, 5).
3) You are your character.
4) There is an objective fictional world.
5) Randomization.

6) Gimmicks. Tactical combat, resource management, levelling up, etc.

winkingbishop · July 13, 2010, 06:57:22 PM

Quote from: jeff37923;393604Fixed your typo.

My bad

For what it's worth, I think the Wonder Woman thing here is funny, but the image I REALLY want keeps putting my anti-virus into a seizure. I'll just let the thing slide.

Anyway, I think this thread might be unnecessarily cerebral. Role playing games are special by their definition. You have players controlling characters that they created and a referee that responds, dynamically, to their actions.

I'm sure there are similarities between RPGs and other media, but the bolded text , to me, is what makes an RPG special and can't be simulated. Maybe some other types of games would fall into that category too (storygames?) but I don't really think this thread is an appropriate place to split those hairs.

skofflox · July 14, 2010, 12:26:53 AM

Quote from: winkingbishop;393596To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

Ahhh yeah....none of that wind in the hair crap, thats for losers...:worship:

thedungeondelver · July 14, 2010, 11:50:21 AM

Is "They're fun" a circular statement?

crkrueger · July 14, 2010, 11:53:33 AM

Quote from: winkingbishop;393626My bad For what it's worth, I think the Wonder Woman thing here is funny, but the image I REALLY want keeps putting my anti-virus into a seizure. I'll just let the thing slide.

Heh, send me a link, I'll get it for you from a lab computer at work.

The Butcher · July 14, 2010, 12:08:53 PM

Quote from: thedungeondelver;393807Is "They're fun" a circular statement?

Not really, but it's a fairly personal one.

What I wanted to point out is that they don't have to have any one trait to set them apart from all other forms of entertainment, to be fun. They don't need to have a "point", other than being fun to play and run.

PaladinCA · July 14, 2010, 06:45:52 PM

What's special about RPGs?

You can act outside of the box.

If we ever get holodecks or computer powered RPGs that can do what pen and paper can do, then I think I'm DONE with pen and paper.

Because the least special thing about pen and paper RPGs is the crapload of work a GM has to do in order to make them sing. For now, it is usually worth that work. But if a medium comes along that gives us the free form of pen and paper with computer images and computer assisted preparation, then pen and paper RPGs won't be so special any more.

YMMV

two_fishes · July 14, 2010, 06:47:55 PM

holodecks would be co-opted by the porn industry within a matter of minutes.

PaladinCA · July 14, 2010, 07:07:27 PM

Quote from: two_fishes;393935holodecks would be co-opted by the porn industry within a matter of minutes.

Sure. But they couldn't have control of ALL of them.

Hieronymous Rex · July 14, 2010, 08:36:38 PM

I give another vote for jibbajabba's statement. One might say that the difference between an RPG and a computer game is that in an RPG you can argue with the computer.

thedungeondelver · July 14, 2010, 09:06:45 PM

Quote from: PaladinCA;393939Sure. But they couldn't have control of ALL of them.

They will when I'm elected...

RPGPundit · July 15, 2010, 12:16:01 PM

Quote from: PaladinCA;393934What's special about RPGs?

You can act outside of the box.

If we ever get holodecks or computer powered RPGs that can do what pen and paper can do, then I think I'm DONE with pen and paper.

It'd have to be a holodeck that could take what I imagine as the scene in my head, and instantly make it a reality. It'd have to be mind-link holodeck technology. Before that, at most, the holodeck would just be another audio-visual aid.

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