A flight simulator simulates the experience of flying. At least, it conveniently allows you to experience some of the aspects of true flying. But when we play on a flight simulator, we don’t make the mistake of saying that what we are doing is flying.
In a similar way, a guitar simulator - such as Guitar Hero - simulates some of the aspects of the experience of playing the guitar, in a convenient fashion. But we’re not actually playing the guitar when we play it.
Then, CRPGs and MMORPGs should actually be called CRPSs and MMORPSs - Computer Roleplaying Simulators and Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Simulators. Because they allow you to conveniently experience some of the aspects of true roleplaying.
Just a thought.
(See. I can write short posts. Sometimes.)
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Tabletop RPG. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 5th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Damn, what is happening to the blogosphere - all this insight in one week?
A very clever and concise summation of why CRPSs/MMORPSs don’t involve a lot of RP unless it’s player-driven or the mods are in the mood to NPC.
Now there’s a thought…
August 6th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Hmmm. Actually, Satyre, you have a valid point, that punctures my analogy somewhat. You can’t really fly in a flight sim, and you can’t really play guitar on a guitar sim. But it’s not impossible to RP in a computer game. It’s only that the medium isn’t conducive to RP (and hence, it tends to wither or never develop in the first place).
I was trying to find a way of describing to the uninitiated, in concise terms, what the essential difference is between computer and tabletop roleplaying games, in a way that makes it clear that computer gaming isn’t an upgrade or replacement for tabletop, which tends to be the default perception.
Though I say it myself, I still think that using ‘Roleplay Simulator’ as a description for computerised formats is a simple way of highlighting the difference in a fashion that’s easy to grasp without asking someone to read an essay.
August 7th, 2009 at 4:39 am
[...] are worth keeping alive), we need to distinguish these games from other games that are essentially ‘Roleplay Simulators’, in the same way that Guitar Hero is a guitar sim, not to be confused with actually playing the [...]