Mad Brew Labs

Deadorcs Question

Towards the end of last week, Deadorcs (Randall Walker of Initiative or What?) asked a question:

deadorcs: If #dnd were as popular as say (I don’t know) Scrabble or Monopoly (but not be a board game). What would that look like & how to get there?

Mad Brew's Response (1)

My reply was that such a feat was improbable. Mostly because the amount of involvement, buy-in, and general work required by players is a hurdle too great for most people to overcome. Indeed, the imagination required must have been unfathomable to a vocal part of the population in the 1980s during the prime of the D&D-is-satanic scare.^[1][2]

Mad Brew's Response (2)

Maybe I spoke too soon. I think I know what D&Dopoly would look like and how it got there.

Legacy

The anti-D&D fervor of the Eighties, while mostly gone, has still left a legacy. So in order for D&D to become a popular kid, it would have to put that legacy to rest (hopefully in a hole deep enough that when its remains become reanimated, the zombie cannot crawl out). While education, celebrity fawning, and wearing your D&D badge where everyone can see it does a lot to kill that legacy, time is D&D’s greatest ally in this battle.

Even harder to conquer than its satanic roots, is D&D’s hardcore geek legacy. Only geeks, nerds, and dorks play D&D, man, or worse. Right? Well, no one wants to be a dork, so the D&D player needs to be an everyperson: women, men, doctors, lawyers, factory workers, secretaries, plumbers, landscapers, actors, & lingerie models. Again, education, celebrity fawning, and time are the biggest champions here.

Simplicity

Even if D&D was the golden child of games, having been blessed by the Pope or promised virgins in the hereafter, it would still have to overcome the complexity of rules that are present. Also, let’s not forget the one element that truly separates roleplaying games, and thus D&D, from board games, and that’s scope.

D&D allows players to freely improvise character actions in order to achieve a possibly infinite number of goals.^[3] The scope of D&D is an impressive thing, so impressive it puts off prospective gamers because they like finite possibilities because they’re easier to manage.

But how can you simplify the game without sacrificing its identify? You could do watered down starter sets, but I think technology is the key [see below].

Market Penetration

The giant phallus of marketing would need to bury itself into the tight, little love channel that is the people’s game shelf. To be as popular as Monopoly would mean that just as many homes have D&D. What can marketing do?

First off, put the kibosh on shitty fucking movies and other media. Get them while they’re young (make an awesome cartoon series complete with posable dolls/figures, pajamas, and goddamned coloring books). Execute an effective transmedia attack on people. Yes, it would mean a serious investment, but sometimes you get what you pay for.

D&Dopoly

D&Dopoly is not what it sounds like… or maybe it is! Hasbro owns both D&D AND Monopoly, so why not cross pollinate and make D&D themed Monopoly boards? Put that in your merchandising strategy right beside your transmedia attack.

Anyways, what would the popular D&D, brother to Monopoly in every home, look like?

Well, it would be a couple of decades from now, when the biggest religious opponents from the eighties are now confined to filling their Depends while mumbling nonsense about the “good ol’ days.” Touchscreen tabletops, like the Microsoft Surface^[4], have pervaded people’s home (no doubt riding the coattails of the iPadXX). High society parties dress up like wizards and demons and play exclusive adventures written for them on giant versions of the tabletops found in normal consumer homes.

It’s all there, the rules (classes, spells, powers, etc.), the maps, miniatures (virtual or physical… which has its own memory to save your stats & loot), and even dice (again, virtual or physical), only the touch-app running on the table does all the calculations for you: movement (hopefully we’ve dropped grids & hexes by then), damage, and even what actions you may take.^[5]

The Awesome Part

You want to know the best part? The rest of us who already dig D&D don’t even have to wait. I say fuck popularity and to hell with whether or not roleplaying (D&D included) is as popular as Monopoly. Once it gets to that point, there is a decent chance you won’t like it.

Listening to:  Triptykon – Eparistera Daimones – Descendant

References

[1] Robertson Games has a recent article about Chick Tracts from the 80s.
[2] Anyone remember Patricia Pulling & her Bother About D&D group? Check out The Escapist’s write up on one of their brochures.
[3] I developed a pretty damn good definition of a roleplaying game a couple of years ago. Which is where I’m pulling this comment about scope.
[4] The new Microsoft Surface.
[5] Oh wait, there is shit like that already in development!

Sunglar (of Stargazer’s World^[1]) kicked off a blog carnival on the Role Play Media Network^[2] earlier this week that focuses on how Social Media has impacted the hobby and the pundits surrounding it. Being keen on technology and its application on the hobby^[3], I felt this was an excellent topic to discuss here at the Labs.

First, let’s define what social media is. Social media are interactive networks and/or tools that store and transmit information. Forums, blogs, wikis, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Kickstarter, deviantArt, BitTorrent, Second Life, Digg, Reddit, YouTube, Picasa and multitudes of other applications and technologies are social media. Anytime users can rate, discuss, share, or otherwise interact with the data or each other, social media is involved.

Social Media Landscape by Fred Cavazza

I think social media has impacted five major properties of the hobby. Social media has increased accessibility to the hobby, decreased the time of distribution, expanded the reach of the hobby, made the permanence of the hobby mutable, and finally, social media has bridged gaps in intimacy between hobbyists as well as publishers & designers.

Accessibility

Before the internet and cheap (often free) social media tools, the means to produce and deliver content were cost prohibitive. It would mean spending money at a print shop and obtaining a mailing list of people to actually send it to and/or distributing it at local shops.

Anything beyond simple black & white facsimiles would require specialized skills and tools of the print industry. Today, one can leverage cheap or free drag & drop applications to create surprisingly good layouts for websites, e-books, and print-on-demand solutions. In essence, this means anyone can be a magazine/e-zine editor, webmaster, or author.

Time/Speed

Social media has significantly reduced the time required to distribute of content. In the print world, it takes days (newspapers) or even months (book printing & shipping) for content to be delivered for consumption. These days, as soon as the content is ready, it can be immediately published and ready for hobbyists to read and use.

With tools like feed readers, email, Twitter, and Facebook, the hobbyist can achieve near instantaneous awareness of when new content is available. No longer does one have to make a trip to the local shop or wait for a product to appear on a shelf.

Reach

Before the internet and social media, the reach of the hobbyist was pretty much limited to people known locally. Programs such as play-by-mail could transcend this limitation, but it suffered from extended periods of waiting by the mailbox and drew out play to a sometimes mind-numbingly slow one action per week.

With the internet and social media tools, the reach of the hobbyist is global. Even language barriers become easily scalable obstacles with a browser like Chrome (recognizes and prompts user if they would like to translate pages). The lone gamer stuck in the backwaters is only a click away from his hobby and others who share his passion.

Permanence

Social media and the internet have allowed what were once immutable and absolute to become evolving and sometimes even capricious. Before these tools, a game reached the hobby in what would be its final form. In order to fix/change the design, a new printing, supplement, or an entirely new edition would have to be created.

Today, errata and fan-made house rules and supplements make a game a constantly evolving beast (should you choose to let it). It seems like WotC puts out a new errata document while prominent bloggers offer optional rules and mechanics to spice up the game on a daily basis.

Depending on your perspective, the new mutability of the hobby can either be a blessing, a curse, or both.

Intimacy

I think the final property of the hobby that social media has changed is that it has allowed hobbyists and designers to develop (at least an illusion of) personal relationships. No longer are the names printed inside our game manuals some unknown being in the ivory tower.

Social media has allowed the hobbyist to glimpse into those areas that were once inaccessible. We can see behind the curtain and watch the processes that make a publisher run. We can give feedback and get answers direct from the designer (without having to wait to see if our question was answered in next month’s sage column).

Convenience

All of these factors add up to one property, convenience. Social media and the internet make it easier to organize, play, obtain content, and communicate among ourselves and with the industry. The ability to connect is nearly effortless.

Be sure to return to the originating post for this RPMN blog carnival, Social Media and its impact on RPGs to see what everyone else is saying.

Listening to: Murderdolls – Women & Children Last – Chapel of Blood

REFERENCES

[1] Sunglar at Stargazer’s World.

[2] The RPMN is a Ning social network for RPG hobbyists created by Berin Kinsman.

[3] Check out my many posts that deal with leveraging technology for RPGs.

I wanted to take a moment to look at how I collect and collate news and information about the tabletop roleplaying hobby. My target audience is those that have just plugged into the online element of the hobby, but I might even be able to show the old geezers who have been doing this since BBS ^[1] a new trick. It might be especially useful to new bloggers as staying abreast of the latest and greatest will either allow you to be a leader or at least abstain from contributing to the echo chamber ^[2].

Mad Brew's iGoogle

Tabbed Browsing

I don’t know if many people aren’t using a tabbed browser, unless you use an old version of Internet Explorer (and if you do, get a frillin’ update). I just happen to have a dual monitor set-up, so I keep a browser nearly maximized on one of the screens. I usually have anywhere between two to four tabs opened in that browser (#1 in the image).

The primary tab is my iGoogle home page, which I’ll cover in depth next. The other tabs tend to be aggregator sites that I don’t really want cluttering iGoogle all the time. I suppose I could add them to a separate iGoogle tab, but these work for me just fine. Some examples sites that you might find useful include:

• Role Play Media Network
• RPG Bloggers Network
• Savage Bloggers Network
• 4e Bloggers Network
• Reddit RPG
• Delicious RPG Tag
• Google News
• EN World
• RPG Site

iGoogle

If I’m married to Microsoft, Google is my mistress and I think their “web 2.0” homepage is the bee’s knees. What is exactly is iGoogle you ask? Well, it’s a customizable homepage that you can add widgets (Google calls them gadgets) that retrieve information and interacts with other web services. It also loads Google Chat just as if you were in Gmail.

As you can see from the screenshot of my iGoogle page (residing in Chrome, which I highly recommend), it is customizable. You could create your own theme if you wanted, but I’m using the official Dungeons & Dragons theme. I’m not sure if you can make the header any thinner, but I’d prefer information to eye candy.

You can create numerous tabs within iGoogle (to the left of #2 in the image, this is my “Networks” tab) and fill them with the gadgets of your choice. On my iGoogle set up, I have a Google Group gadget where I can keep tabs on new messages in the mailing lists I subscribe too (I dislike cluttering email with group messages).

Below Google Groups is my Gmail gadget (#3). It displays the 5 latest emails. Below Gmail is my Facebook Gadget (#4), which is basically an iframe of the mobile FB site. Again, I like to keep the inbox clutter free, so I don’t allow a lot of email traffic from Facebook. This gadget also lets me see updates from RPG related pages I have fanned and updates from friends involved in the industry.

In the right hand column I have my Google Reader gadget (#5) which allows me to follow my favorite blogs (not necessarily RPG related). You may have noticed I use browser tabs to visit feed aggregators instead of subscribing to them. I find that is the best method to keep a high signal-to-noise ratio of relevant information in my feeds. I sort of browse the aggregators to see if anything catches my eye from time to time (and to make sure I’m not contributing to the echo chamber).

The final piece of my iGoogle experience is TwitterGadget (#6). It’s an excellent Twitter client, and while it doesn’t support fancy crap like grouping my connections, it is still feature rich. I utilize Twitter more and more every day as a source of news and information. Twitter excels as an information broker.

Conclusion

I highly recommend iGoogle to organize your information sources, and I totally encourage you to find new gadgets that get the job done better than the ones I have (been awhile since I set up my iGoogle page). In fact, if you’re code savvy, try your hand at making one.

I also welcome readers and fellow bloggers to share your own methods of hunting and gathering information. Post your tips in the comments or write your own articles and post a link here.

References

[1] A precursor to the World Wide Web. Go read the Wikipedia entry.

[2] This happens when you have multiple sites reporting the same tired crap.

Listening to: Dr. Steel – People of Earth – Atomic Superstar

Foursquare

I just unlocked the Iron GM badge on GameSextant ^[1] and I’m about to become the Seneschal of the LFGS if I visit it again this week. Well, maybe if such a thing existed. If you’re a technophile with a smartphone, chances are you’ve heard of social geolocation sites/apps like Foursquare ^[2] or Gowalla. ^[3] These location-based mobile social networks allow you to announce what you’re doing and gain rewards for visiting new venues and many other behaviors.

While such social networks are not without peril when used by the unwary, ^[4] I think such little addictive apps like Foursquare could be quite useful in increasing participation in such things as organized play, hobby store shopping, conventions, or even private gaming groups.

What is Geolocation

According to Wikipedia, geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an Internet-connected computer, mobile device, website visitor or other. IP address geolocation data can include information such as country, region, city, postal/zip code, latitude, longitude and time zone.^[5]

So basically, an mobile social network that utilizes geolocation will grab the address of a device (most likely a smartphone) using the device’s built in GPS or by surveying the local cell phone towers for a rough estimate. It then cross references that address with a database of local venues and allows the user to check-in. It then updates the user’s social network with relevant information.

Hobby Applications

Well, whenever someone checks into a venue, such as a convention, friendly local gaming store, or other gaming event, the app will broadcast a message saying as much across many social networks (or at least as many supported by the app and approved by the user). It’s free advertisement!

The killer part is people want to do this. I have found myself want to vigorously defend the mayorships I have earned at certain locations through FourSquare. It’s about bragging rights (meaningless, but bragging rights all the same). And venues can encourage such behavior by offering specials for people who have earned such trivial rewards. An example would be a monthly $5 award for the current mayor come the deadline.

Organized play societies could tie in with the network and offer free stuff to the most dedicated GMs and players. Exhibitors could make a game out of visiting certain booths and events at a convention. Private gaming groups now have a surefire method of figuring out who is immune to being the wipey bitch (what my group calls the guy that has to wipe off the battlemat and record initiative scores).

What Do You Think?

Is it too gimmicky? Do grognards even use smartphones, or do they still communicate via smoke signals and telegraph? What ways can you think of to utilize this technology within the realm of roleplaying games?

If you’re interesting in finding out more about how roleplaying games can use technology, check out my other articles on technology.

References

[1] GameSextant is my own conceptual version of a location-based mobile social network engineered specifically to enhance the gaming lifestyle. It does not actually exist (yet).

[2] Foursquare is a location-based mobile social network that allows you to check into locations found nearby utilizing the phone’s location awareness (via GPS or triangulation). Foursquare has awards called badges that can be earned by certain behaviors.

[3] Gowalla is an application very similar to Foursquare. ^[2]

[4] Please Rob Me was stunt website that aggregated everyone’s location-based messages. It highlighted how the unscrupulous could take advantage of such information to break into your home while you’re not there, or worse…

[5] Wikipedia’s Geolocation Entry.

Listening to: Black Light Burns – Cruel Melody – Cruel Melody

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 27^th, 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

What if you could roleplay at a table that actually contained all the game logic? It recognized your mini when you placed on the surface and presented an array of options available to your character and resolved the challenges based upon GM and Player input? In addition, you were not constrained to play within the rules (game logic), but could play “freestyle” any time you wish by simply switching of the rules?

Well, the technology is available today, but it’s real pricey (app. $12,000 USD). However, in about 10 years, I expect the price for such technologies will have dropped into the upper range of affordable and such tables might become something more than an uncommon sight.

If you have been following the Labs for any amount of time, then you are probably aware of my love of technology when it is used to enhance or facilitate the playing of roleplaying games. Recently, The Core Mechanic and Mad Brew Labs bounced some ideas about utilizing Social Media as a platform for playing RPGs.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Prior to the discussion of Social Media RPGs, I wrote several articles about the Future Technology of roleplaying. These articles focused on current technologies the hobby had yet to use fully^[5], emerging technologies that RPGs could utilize^[6], a look at augmented reality for RPGs[7], and finally a piece about the rise of the digital game table^[8], which included a preview of Dungeons & Dragons being playing on the Microsoft Surface.^[9]

The SurfaceScapes^[10] team at Carnegie Mellon University^[11] has designed the interface and logic for playing D&D on the MS Surface. The MS Surface site has done several interviews with the team, and if you’re interested in the technology, I recommend you read them.^{[12] [13] [14]}

Otherwise, I present three videos that demonstrate the capabilities of the table:

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] Social Media RPG Platform. Mad Brew Labs. 2010-01-15.

[4] Social Media Role Playing Minigames. The Core Mechanic. 2010-01-15.

[5] Untapped Potential of Technology. Mad Brew Labs. 2009-05-06.

[6] Future Potential of Technology. Mad Brew Labs. 2009-08-06.

[7] Augmented Reality “Boardgame”. Mad Brew Labs. 2009-08-07.

[8] Rise of the Digital Game Table. Mad Brew Labs. 2009-10-19.

[9] The Microsoft Surface is a multi-touch table computer.

[10] SurfaceScapes is a student project for Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center.

[11] Carnegie Mellon University is located in Pittsburgh, PA.

[12] Dungeons & Dragons Done Right on MS Surface. MS Surface Blog. 2009-10-19.

[13] SurfaceScapes Follow-up: Bringing D&D to MS Surface. MS Surface Blog. 2009-12-08.

[14] New Gameplay Video with D&D on Surface. MS Surface Blog. 2009-12-16.

Listening to: Monster Magnet – Dopes to Infinity – Negasonic Teenage Warhead

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.

• RPGs, SMGs, and the Shared Fence
• Bridging the Gap: RPGs and Social Media

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

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.

Listening to: Opeth – Ghost Reveries – Atonement

I have talked about emerging and established technologies and how they could be harnessed to enhance table top roleplaying games before. The digital gaming table is one of my favorite concepts and there appears to be a trend of resourceful individuals and groups developing more examples of these tables.

Previously, I wrote about Shane Deseranno’s interactive game table that worked with Wii technology. Recently, I have seen a few more digital game tables appear on the radar that are using multi-touch technologies. Multi-touch allows users to interface with a program via pressure sensitive screens that can be manipulated with your fingers.

DragonEye: DIY Multi-touch Table

The first example I want to highlight is a DIY multi-touch created by repurposing a PS3 Eye Camera and using Rear Diffused Illumination projection and reacTIVision software built by SpynalTom.

The best part of this build is that SpynalTom is part of a larger DIY community called NUI Group (Natural User Interface), “an open source interactive media community researching and creating machine sensing techniques to benefit artistic, commercial and educational applications.” They have a very informative and active forum where you can follow project builds like SpynalTom’s.

SurfaceScapes Proof of Concept

SurfaceScapes is a team out of the Entertainment Technology Center of Carnegie Mellon University. They have developed a decent proof of concept (prototype) of software/user interface for Dungeons & Dragons on the Microsoft Surface table.

This probably the most polished software I have seen designed to be with a roleplaying game on a digital gaming table. Obviously, the UI needs some tweaking, but I really like what I see. I think it would be even better if you had the option of using traditional dice which could be programmed to be recognized as fiducials (and therefore tracked by the software).

Tomorrow: Touchable Holographs

I am obviously talking about nextgen equipment that has yet to go mainstream with the multi-touch tables. But what is the next logical progression? Touchable Holographic or Augmented Reality displays.

I have also touched upon Augmented Reality (a different, yet similar technology than holograms), but before, where virtual realities are layered atop the real world… now imagine if you could touch it. I’ll leave you to wonder at the possibilities with this video that highlights while I ponder the ways to integrate Google Wave with these things…

Other Technology Focused Articles:

• Untapped Potential of Technology
• Future Potential of Technology
• Augmented Reality “Boardgame”

Listening to: Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls, & the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool - What!?

Right after I posted my Future Potential of Technology post yesterday, I saw a couple of posts from Justin at CartoonSmart.com (an excellent site for Flash animation/programming) come through my feed reader concerning my primary topic of AR. Justin found this amazing video on YouTube by Georgia Tech and SCAD Atlanta. It uses a flat map “board” and the game is interfaced with Nvidia’s Tegra powered device. So if any of you were wondering what I was talking about yesterday, here is a fine example of an Augmented Reality game.

Other Technology Focused Articles:

• Untapped Potential of Technology
• Future Potential of Technology
• Rise of the Digital Game Table

Listening to: Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppeling IV (Zoso) – Black Dog