would have to be this, but damn it I would play the hell out of a Dino-rancher in the wild frontier north of the red river (which in this version would flow red...with blood)
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Online Gaming
And I don't mean WOW.
I love wow, I think wow is great. I think lots of online RPGs are great. I think most FB games are good, rpg or not really. They do the job of entertaining and allowing us an escape from the more dull parts of our lives. Say what you will about escapes from reality, but they fill a nitch.
I've done TON of RPGs online. From when I moved from OKC to when I moved back essentially ALL my gaming was online. Every scrap of it. There was nobody local to play with. Well, nobody I knew.
Like most things, there are advantages and disadvantages of online gaming.
Advantages:
1. time and location are largely irrelevant. You game from wherever you are whenever you feel like it.
2. The game has a lifetime record from start to finish. Easy to keep notes on.
3. consistency to the story and the depth of that story are usually greater than in live games.
Disadvantages:
1. Because the only reward is the game itself, the social benefits of the live game are lost.
2. Because of the turn-based nature of online games, combat can take a long time. There are ways to bypass this, but those methods remove player control somewhat.
3. The game usually progresses slowly.
I've noticed a few other things that work well for my online gaming.
1. Two players is better than 1 or 3 (or more).
3. More than 3 players is almost always a bad idea.
4. Players who want a greater deal of strategic control over their character usually get tired of the game.
5. PBEM (play by e-mail) works about as well as play-by-post to a forum or group. E-mail has a tendency to be more stable, but people seem to forget to reply or check forums if things get slow.
6. Supplementing PBP/PBEM with play by message seems to be good for the slow points or whenever everyone is online and capable playing.
7. Tracking character sheets is kinda tough, but there are numerous solutions.
I've been thinking of trying an online game using the tools of FB. Make a group for just the GM and 2 players. It has a built in 'group chat' automatically. Character sheets can be kept as notes...but I'm not sure how easy that is to modify.
I love wow, I think wow is great. I think lots of online RPGs are great. I think most FB games are good, rpg or not really. They do the job of entertaining and allowing us an escape from the more dull parts of our lives. Say what you will about escapes from reality, but they fill a nitch.
I've done TON of RPGs online. From when I moved from OKC to when I moved back essentially ALL my gaming was online. Every scrap of it. There was nobody local to play with. Well, nobody I knew.
Like most things, there are advantages and disadvantages of online gaming.
Advantages:
1. time and location are largely irrelevant. You game from wherever you are whenever you feel like it.
2. The game has a lifetime record from start to finish. Easy to keep notes on.
3. consistency to the story and the depth of that story are usually greater than in live games.
Disadvantages:
1. Because the only reward is the game itself, the social benefits of the live game are lost.
2. Because of the turn-based nature of online games, combat can take a long time. There are ways to bypass this, but those methods remove player control somewhat.
3. The game usually progresses slowly.
I've noticed a few other things that work well for my online gaming.
1. Two players is better than 1 or 3 (or more).
3. More than 3 players is almost always a bad idea.
4. Players who want a greater deal of strategic control over their character usually get tired of the game.
5. PBEM (play by e-mail) works about as well as play-by-post to a forum or group. E-mail has a tendency to be more stable, but people seem to forget to reply or check forums if things get slow.
6. Supplementing PBP/PBEM with play by message seems to be good for the slow points or whenever everyone is online and capable playing.
7. Tracking character sheets is kinda tough, but there are numerous solutions.
I've been thinking of trying an online game using the tools of FB. Make a group for just the GM and 2 players. It has a built in 'group chat' automatically. Character sheets can be kept as notes...but I'm not sure how easy that is to modify.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Here's a thought
We all know I hate feats. They were added in 3rd edition and caused nothing but problems. Novel and interesting at first but broken, tedious, and boring after a while.
but I like the powers from 4e. yeah, know, they are not perfect either, but still, make for some interesting effects.
Dropping feats from 4e is easy. They don't do much anyway.
But what about dropping feats from 3e. That causes lots of problems (for example, the fighter). but what if you drop feats and replace them with powers? Would that work? How? How not?
but I like the powers from 4e. yeah, know, they are not perfect either, but still, make for some interesting effects.
Dropping feats from 4e is easy. They don't do much anyway.
But what about dropping feats from 3e. That causes lots of problems (for example, the fighter). but what if you drop feats and replace them with powers? Would that work? How? How not?
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Post Baby Gaming
So I was thinking, actually I've been thinking about this for some time (off and on). I'm not sure how much live gaming I'm going to be able to do. The weekly Saturday thing is probably staring down the barrel of it's last few months.
After the baby(s) are born, getting together on a weekly basis will be nearly impossible for the first few months. Even after that, transporting a child (or two) to Norman once a week at 7pm is, at best, a hassle. At worst, ridiculous.
Up till now we met at Jonathan's because...well...they had kids. So unless they got a babysitter it just wasn't going to happen anywhere else. With us having kids too the only functional solution is that someone gets a baby sitter once a week. Depending on who does it that's not a cheap solution.
So I'm not sure what is going to happen with the live game after baby(s). I'm pretty sure it will mark the death of anything that could be called a 'campaign'. It will likely mark the beginning of more online activity and one-shots. Maybe Saturday afternoon sessions. I'm really not sure how it will play out. I'm not too worried about it either.
After the baby(s) are born, getting together on a weekly basis will be nearly impossible for the first few months. Even after that, transporting a child (or two) to Norman once a week at 7pm is, at best, a hassle. At worst, ridiculous.
Up till now we met at Jonathan's because...well...they had kids. So unless they got a babysitter it just wasn't going to happen anywhere else. With us having kids too the only functional solution is that someone gets a baby sitter once a week. Depending on who does it that's not a cheap solution.
So I'm not sure what is going to happen with the live game after baby(s). I'm pretty sure it will mark the death of anything that could be called a 'campaign'. It will likely mark the beginning of more online activity and one-shots. Maybe Saturday afternoon sessions. I'm really not sure how it will play out. I'm not too worried about it either.
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