Transgaming: Bridging the Gap Between Tables & Silicon

Transgaming is a nascent game design paradigm that provides interconnected gaming experiences. Two or more different games share the same the world and actions where events in one game also affect all other games sharing the world. For example, a real time strategy game that determines the vehicles and tech levels available to the players of a first person shooter. Though the concept isn’t new, CCP’s[1] Dust 514[2] is the first title to provide a transgaming experience.

Culture

Social Media & RPGs

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.

Culture

Is the iPad the Messiah of Roleplaying?

When Apple unveiled their new multi-touch tablet device, 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 hail the tablet as the messiah of digital roleplaying.

Culture

D&D on Microsoft Surface

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?

Culture

Social Media RPG Platform

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.

Yesterday, 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.