| From: | Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Roleplaying in 205X (was Re: Fashion in SR (was Re: armored |
| Date: | Tue, 23 Jun 1998 17:30:51 -0400 |
>Well, here's a little bit of NERPS to play with... what would role-playing be
>like in 205X? After all, while simsense would be fun, it doesn't have the
>level of choice that make most of our games Hell on Earth. What kinds of
>games will be popular when the guy down the street _can_ cast a fireball at a
>troll (if he doesn't mind getting arrested for 1st degree murder, of course)?
Heh. The sort of discussion I like...
Well, I think you covered a few of the main points, such as striving for
some amount of realism in their magic systems.
I'm not sure if paper-and-pencil RPGs would even really still be around
though.
Imagine, if you will...
A simsense-like experience (i.e., near-total immersion) in a hybrid of
something like Doom (for the POV) and Shadowrun for the complexity and
variety of possibilities that is also fully networked so you can interact
with your buddies/teammates.
Sure, there are games now that allow you to be certain character classes,
but none of them allow the deep level of complexity and capacity for PC
uniqueness that an old-fashioned paper-and-pencil allows.
I guess I'm trying to say that Matrix games with the proper output devices
should allow someone in SR 2059 to play a game, especially an RPG, just as
if he was living it. Like a lucid dream almost.
That, of course, would be the province of the wealthy I'm sure.
For the less-fortunate? Remove the simsense-like experience but retain the
RPG complexity and make network play optional (but strongly suggested) and
you've got a generic game machine.
For the really-unfortunate? Probably no better that what is currently
available to those that lack food, clean water, shelter, clothing,
electricity and so on. In other words, it's back to old-fashioned stick
ball for those times when the gangers are being really quiet and
hide-and-hope-no-one-seeks when the gang or someone else goes on a rampage.
You can see the parallel's among many of the kids today. Many many
children that grew up with video games just don't get, for a variety of
reasons, the paper RPGs that we play. Their concept of a RPG is Final
Fantasy 7 for the Playstation. Which, while an extremely cool game, ISN'T
a ROLE-PLAYING game. But try telling the average 15-yr old that.
Erik J.
Power comes to them that enjoy the thrill of fear -Cop Shoot Cop
