article:
Roleplaying Games and
Computer Roleplaying Games
By Tommy Lim
Role Playing Game is an interactive exercise where players pretend to be their characters, making decisions regarding their character's actions in order to achieve an objective or tell a story. Rules assist in resolving actions and defining the imaginary world, be it realistic or fantastic, that the characters inhabit.
The above description sounds very much like computer RPGs and rightfully so. Computer RPG mechanics were derived from the rules of tabletop face-to-face (F2F) RPGs. For example, "Pool of Radiance" and "Baldur's Gate" were derived from Dungeons and Dragons. Many concepts now taken for granted in computer games owe their existence to tabletop RPGs and/or war simulatons.
Examples are: skill ratings, ability or stat ratings, hit points, damage capacity, attack power, and combat mechanics in general. You can also find these and other concepts making their way into simulation games and even into sports games like NBA or FIFA. At its very core RPG rules are a means of modeling and abstracting an imaginary world to reflect reality or an alternative kind of reality.
DID YOU KNOW THAT
Role playing games had their roots in the war simulation games played by military officers in training. Two teams would occupy separate rooms. Dice would be used to resolve actions such as firing. Referees and arbiters would shuttle between the rooms in between battle turns to update the players' maps and playing pieces.
COMPUTER RPGs
Computer RPGs for the most part capture the mechanical or numerical aspects of role-playing games. Scripted and limited branching quests and storylines can also be implemented. Unfortunately these computer games still possess limited possibilities in story creation or authorship and do not promote deep social interaction among characters.
There have been advances in the social aspect in games like Everquest, World of Warcraft, Ragnarok Online, Star Wars Online, and other MMORPGs (otherwise known as Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) where players can communicate with each other through typed messages and the game world does develop a society of sorts. There are online games where the story can be set up by a referee.
Computer RPG games create immersive audiovisual experiences that free the players from having to imagine described scenes. Combat and other action resolutions are also handled at computer speeds. The first limitation of computer RPGs is that a character's actions are limited by what the programmers of the game chose to include, whereas actions in a tabletop RPG are limited only by imagination and plausibility.
Despite the advances, computer RPGs are also still a very long way from achieving the story flexibility and depth, and character interaction that are available in tabletop RPGs.
IN SUMMARY
A contrasting summary of what a player gets:
Computer RPGs have: action resolution speed, graphics, sound, convenience. MMORPGs add social dynamics with their larger playerbase.
Tabletop face-to-face RPGs have: story co-authorship, unlimited variety in responses to non-player story characters, intense and deep interactivity arising from having a smaller group, and nearly unlimited variety in available actions.
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