Here’s another post fresh from the Sarcastic Gamer Community Blogs, this time from KJScott. If you fancy getting onto the front page of Sarcastic Gamer, head on over to the forums, sign up for an account and get writing in your own personal blog. If it’s funny, written well enough, or just plain awesome, it might end up right here. Good job, KJScott!

My plans to write about Dead Rising went the way of the honest politicians, the worlds oil reserves and the Dodos. I’ve spent waaay to much time having to learn flash programming to actually play Dead Rising (though I have played a bit of Morrowind recently) but after reading this months Bi-monthly theme for SG, I just had to write something that’s been sitting in my head for a long while. For those of us who enjoy playing computer RPGs we’ve all asked ourselves this same question ‘if I could, I would’ do. Though my idea is simple, before I start talking about what I would do I want to let you, the reader, know a little bit about my own experiences and thoughts of RPGs in general to help you where I’m coming from and how I came to my answer.

I started off with roleplaying games when I was four playing Dungeons & Dragons (not the hideous complex Advanced Dungeons and Dragons) with my family and friends. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to experience many games, both table-top and computer based, including such classics as D&D (both the original/classic version and 1st to 3rd Editions), Star Wars d6, V:TM, MERP, Ultima Series, Wizardry Series, The Elder Scrolls series and the Final Fantasy Series to name just a few so hopefully I know a bit about what I’m talking about. Heck, I’ve even done a bit of LARPing too!

Every RPG, either table-top or computer based, is based broadly on the two fundamental elements of statistics and storytelling to create a fun and exciting experience for those involved. In my mind what separates the computer RPG from the table-top RPG is that whilst a computer can deal with the statistical computations quickly, it lacks the human creativity which dungeon/games master brings to the world, tailoring the action and events to the players, only limited by the imagination of the participants.

Computer RPGs have historically been static, single player games. Once shipped, the stories and the rules defining how we can act within that world, remain the same with the exception of patches, expansions and hacks. They have the potential of creating a very in depth and exciting world in which you can engage in compelling story lines driving you through the game.

On occasion, we see some computer RPGs which incorporate multiplayer into their design such as Balder’s Gate, though the role of multiplayer computer RPGs has largely been taken on by the MMOs (which I shall talk about shortly). Regarding my reference to how static computer RPGs are, in latter years we have started to see exceptions to this with the concept of user created content, allowing other people to download and play with content you have created. Two good examples of this which leaps to mind are Neverwinter Nights, which allowed prospective developers a wide range to modify much of the content through hacks and scripting, and The Sims. With the inclusion of user created content we move closer towards the creativity of a table-top but we still lack the versatility of having a dungeon/games master to manipulate the world around us.

Neverwinter Nights is a game I found to be a cut above the rest. Sure, it didn’t have the greatest graphics at the time compared to its competitors, but it was a multiplayer RPG and it allowed user created content (which was a rarity at the time.) It also had an included tool which allowed someone to log into the game as a dungeon master with the ability to create monsters on the fly, create special effects and possess creatures! This feature was most heavily used by creators of persistent worlds and brought us closer to the feel of a table-top RPG.

MMOs are a different breed completely from the typical computer RPG. Even those offering minor (relatively speaking) multiplayer functionality. These games have to cater for many, many thousands of players at the same time so we find the complex and intricate story lines (with branching story lines and endings) tend to be done away with for a more simplistic approach in which no one is a hero (or villain) for everyone has saved the same village from the orcs for the nth time. MMOs lack a personal touch for the player, a way to define their own unique destiny within the world rather than defining themselves as a set of statistics and equipment.

Overall what computer RPGs lack which the table-top RPGs can incorporate easily, is the “personal experience” of creating and tailoring the world around you. Some games allow you to decide your look, decide your stats, make important decisions as to the fate of your character or those around you. In essence, you are still playing within the designers concept. When you look at it closely, even though the path you take through the game may vary, as may your solution in overcoming the obstacles you face, you are still following the path they have laid out in front of you. Now ‘if I could, I would‘ not change these things as many of these are central to telling a story but enhance them by “creating a personal experience.”

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