The greatness of roleplaying games
Sept 9, 2016 15:20:59 GMT -5
Admin Pete, hengest, and 2 more like this
Post by Necromancer on Sept 9, 2016 15:20:59 GMT -5
Every now and then I end up reflecting on my own views and experiences within the field of roleplaying games. I discovered RPG's at the age of 11 - now I'm 42 and I'm still into this hobby. I'm aware there are quite a few members of this board older than me, having played longer - to me, that is not only impressive and inspirational, it's also quite fascinating to be part of a hobby generating that sort of commitment and interest. I also think it says a lot about the potential and literally endless possibilities "these games" have to offer. Yes, it is games we are dealing with here, but in many ways they are more than "just" games. I can't think of any other hobby offering this kind of interactive creativity.
To me personally, one of the greatest things about RPG's (and I also view this as one of its strengths) is the way the conceptual design of these games encourages the use of creativity and imagination. Seeing the activity on boards like this is a clear sign of that. We spend numerous hours, days, months, even years, creating fictional characters, cultures, creatures, mythologies, countries, whole worlds... and we make up rules, write adventures, create artwork... not to mention set up online boards, blogs, podcasts and what not.
Another great thing about RPG's is the diversity - especially today, after more than four decades of published games and the explosion during the last few years of self-publishing, internet sharing and print-on-demand technology made available. The amount of RPG's today is quite immense, offering an impressive scope concerning settings and/or rules in any number of languages.
With that in mind I think most people with any interest in RPG's would be able to find a suitable setting:
Don't like fantasy? Try science fiction, or horror, or post apocalypse. No? Well, how about a historical setting then - perhaps the wild west or feudal Japan? Not into that either? Well, then there's superheroes, humour, steampunk, kitchen sink psychosocial drama...
Still can't find what you're looking for...? Well, here's the best part: you can create a setting of your own!
Similarily, I think most people would be able to find a game with a system matching the personal preferences:
Don't like levels? Well, try a skill based system. Don't care for percentile dice? Go for a system employing d20, or perhaps d6. Think the ref holds to much power? There's a number of games where players have more narrative control - even games without a ref. Having a hard time with overly complex rules and brick-heavy rulebooks? Go for a more minimalist system...
Still can't find what you're looking for...? Well, here's the best part: you can create rules of your own!
Some people probably see a roleplaying game as "just a game" - and yeah, it is maybe "just a game". But what a game it is, then! It's a game that encourages creativity, and that makes us gamers use, develop, explore and challenge our imaginative sides. We can sit by ourselves and create our imaginary worlds and characters, which is all good and fun, but when we get together and actually play - using those imaginary worlds and characters - even cooler things might start to happen, and we create stories of sorts in real time as the game progresses. These courses of events might contain adventure, action, humour, tragedy, horror or whatever - and hopefully we have a tons of fun during the time.
Sure, we all have our preferences when it comes to rules and settings - that's only natural since we're all different. What's great about these games is that we can use them (or create our own) to go wherever we want to go and do whatever we want to do - and we can experience and develop that together, only using imagination and creativity. Now, that's pretty amazing for "just a game".
Bring some friends, give me some dice, pen and paper, and I'm good to go.
Let's play.
To me personally, one of the greatest things about RPG's (and I also view this as one of its strengths) is the way the conceptual design of these games encourages the use of creativity and imagination. Seeing the activity on boards like this is a clear sign of that. We spend numerous hours, days, months, even years, creating fictional characters, cultures, creatures, mythologies, countries, whole worlds... and we make up rules, write adventures, create artwork... not to mention set up online boards, blogs, podcasts and what not.
Another great thing about RPG's is the diversity - especially today, after more than four decades of published games and the explosion during the last few years of self-publishing, internet sharing and print-on-demand technology made available. The amount of RPG's today is quite immense, offering an impressive scope concerning settings and/or rules in any number of languages.
With that in mind I think most people with any interest in RPG's would be able to find a suitable setting:
Don't like fantasy? Try science fiction, or horror, or post apocalypse. No? Well, how about a historical setting then - perhaps the wild west or feudal Japan? Not into that either? Well, then there's superheroes, humour, steampunk, kitchen sink psychosocial drama...
Still can't find what you're looking for...? Well, here's the best part: you can create a setting of your own!
Similarily, I think most people would be able to find a game with a system matching the personal preferences:
Don't like levels? Well, try a skill based system. Don't care for percentile dice? Go for a system employing d20, or perhaps d6. Think the ref holds to much power? There's a number of games where players have more narrative control - even games without a ref. Having a hard time with overly complex rules and brick-heavy rulebooks? Go for a more minimalist system...
Still can't find what you're looking for...? Well, here's the best part: you can create rules of your own!
Some people probably see a roleplaying game as "just a game" - and yeah, it is maybe "just a game". But what a game it is, then! It's a game that encourages creativity, and that makes us gamers use, develop, explore and challenge our imaginative sides. We can sit by ourselves and create our imaginary worlds and characters, which is all good and fun, but when we get together and actually play - using those imaginary worlds and characters - even cooler things might start to happen, and we create stories of sorts in real time as the game progresses. These courses of events might contain adventure, action, humour, tragedy, horror or whatever - and hopefully we have a tons of fun during the time.
Sure, we all have our preferences when it comes to rules and settings - that's only natural since we're all different. What's great about these games is that we can use them (or create our own) to go wherever we want to go and do whatever we want to do - and we can experience and develop that together, only using imagination and creativity. Now, that's pretty amazing for "just a game".
Bring some friends, give me some dice, pen and paper, and I'm good to go.
Let's play.
