http://analogrpgers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82?format=rss Tribe.net. Local Connections http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#a36b8219-6185-4466-b48c-da951191625d I blame WoW and other video games. I think play-by forum RPGs (that actually observe the game rules) are less appealing than games that are more interactive fiction writing. I think rules add an extra dynamic that must be followed, and while appealing to some, has less appeal for a number of reasons. 1) Rules means following them. Not for everyone. Turns can often take weeks on end waiting for someone to post. A 3 second round takes days to accomplish, sometimes. Its fine if its not your main thing you are doing online, but compared to a game you can log into and fight in "real time" (like WoW), this one is more for the dedictated fan than the casual one. 2) PBEM games with no rules allow total freedom and creativity, with no constraints by rules as such. Sure there are limits for game balance, but you don't generally have a character sheet, more of a character concept or biography to work from. Its more about teh story than the dice. 3) Limited availability of online resources. If there was a well known online tabletop system that was free to use, with dice roller and everything, it would be easier. If you know of any, please post them in a seperate thread, so we can all give them a run. However, I think that we have less than we could online for support tools. It also requires more work than some DMs or players want to do, keepingt rack of a characters sheet, or finding rules sets for everyone that they have in common, or simply just motivating players do something like actually submit their durned charcter sheets can be challenging. A lot of folks start games, but don't carry them through (me included) because they lose enthusaism for them. So, I think if you are dedictated enough and interested enough to sustain the ffort over along haul, you can get somewhere. Don't expect a huge audience though. You are competing with a wealth of other need-satisfaction resources out there, and real life. Sometimes finding ten minutes to post to a game once a week is more challenging than finding 6 hours to get together with fellow gamers. Sometimes. Would I use the net to game more often? Yes I would! But I would be more excited about it if there were better tools out there to utilize and interaction to have. Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:17:50 GMT http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#a36b8219-6185-4466-b48c-da951191625d Madigan 2007-10-15T22:17:50Z http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#e037a424-fa47-40f5-b567-a8e84c6bbd90 Why can't you include the subject of your thread in the subject line?!?!?! Is it that hard? Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:40:55 GMT http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#e037a424-fa47-40f5-b567-a8e84c6bbd90 REkz 2007-10-04T06:40:55Z http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#48b879ae-9007-4e6e-9a67-b051d1033173 Thaks for the info. Can someone tell me why a simple play by post forum game seems to be out of the question for hard core gamers? Is it like asking a Halo3 vet to sit down and play pong? Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:54:56 GMT http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#48b879ae-9007-4e6e-9a67-b051d1033173 Caine 2007-10-02T22:54:56Z http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#543a5216-8e41-4d43-a8be-46d7cbe44f07 Well the technology exists. you could easily do a chat system connected to a data base that houses character stats monster stats game books everything even maps and dungeon data... It could even take care of all the dice rolling, and display the results to everyone playing... The GM could even pre-program the game to run itself! The whole thing could be computerize... Oh wait... they call that World of Warcraft. Sorry I didn't mean that to be as sarcastic as it may sound But seriously if you wanted to just set up a video conference and play you could do that with Yahoo Messenger, or AIM. It won't be as graphically pretty as WOW but it would allow a Game Master to run a game over 1000s of miles. Chat avatars could be character sketches, Both AIM and YIM allow for file sharing between users so displaying maps with character positions, and combat movements is easily posible. The technology is there and available it just needs to be applied if that is what you wish to do. Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:01:07 GMT http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#543a5216-8e41-4d43-a8be-46d7cbe44f07 Fearghus 2007-10-02T21:01:07Z http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#3acaba60-acd2-4f8f-adda-66018b4882e4 I might get into the online table top, as the technology improves but not quite yet... Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:47:41 GMT http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#3acaba60-acd2-4f8f-adda-66018b4882e4 Frozenstars 2007-10-02T20:47:41Z http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#f48f75f8-7d22-4bc9-ad6b-8f5e336d6fee I've done play by post and it can work well if there is no other option. I prefer face to face table top playing though. Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:36:47 GMT http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#f48f75f8-7d22-4bc9-ad6b-8f5e336d6fee Fearghus 2007-10-02T13:36:47Z http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#b9738720-cdee-476d-ad8f-2509b52ea557 Does anyone here, or in any other rpg group that you know of, have any interest in what are known as "Play by post" games? I know they are not everyone's cup of tea but I like them because the hours I have to invest in gaming are late at night and I have a difficult time getting locals to play. I've figured out (I think) a way to play it here on Tribes wrather than play at a forum on another site: I'll make a new Tribes profile and everyone who wants to play can friend the profile. On the profile page will be little more than the profiles blog (to show the "rules" and "situation"), the "view my friends blogs" module (which is where the game would play out through blogs on each players site), and a callendar listing game dates. Each blog post would need to start with a setting and time frame such as: "The next morning over at city hall", or "Later that evening on the docks" but it wouldn't be that difficult. Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:00:49 GMT http://analogRPGers.tribe.net/thread/4e3ae5ff-7a66-4d36-8c84-44e4704d5d82#b9738720-cdee-476d-ad8f-2509b52ea557 Caine 2007-10-02T02:00:49Z