I don't play any MMORPGs. The only online (addictive) games I've played were all free (Utopia and its more open cousin Dystopia, and Kingdom of Loathing to be exact).
I don't have the time or patience for the 'grinding' anymore. I tried playing Final Fantasy 6/3 on my NES emulator about two years ago, and gave up shortly. Spending all that time beating slimes with sticks for a few coppers just to buy a dull knife (one step up from the stick! Then I can save up for the padded vest instead of my tattered dirty jerkin faster!) isn't what I want out of a video game anymore.
The monthly subscription thing isn't too appealing, either. I'd rather buy a game once, and then have it to play at my leisure.
The virtual table top, if properly constructed, could possibly interest me. Being in Korea, there aren't that many gamers I can find. And I think I've documented thoroughly enough with my current group why RPGs don't seem to work well with us. I've tried PbP games such as those on RPOL. They usually don't work.
I did have good experiences years ago using OpenRPG combined with Yahoo Voice Chat (back around 2001/2002) to run some games with friends in other parts of Japan.
I think in my case, having something like a good, stable, VTT with plenty of people checking in and playing all sorts of games would be great for me. I could play with people I know that live far away, or with strangers, or a mix of both, despite being on a different continent. And I could find a group of players who want to play the same style of game as myself much more easily, I'd imagine.
In the end, though, monthly subscription costs will likely keep me away from WotC's offerings, but if someone else came up with something similar and free, or pay as a one-time fee to download the software, I'd be on it.
Nothing beats a good face-to-face game with your friends, but this VTT idea might not be a bad one.
I never liked Final Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to be trying OpenRPG for our next game soon. Its the only way I can play since I'm 600 miles away from our group.
I think there's a lot of potential for this sort of thing. A robust VTT with voice chat would almost be as good as the real thing in my book.
ReplyDeleteOh...and happy birthday and stuff!
Thanks, KM. Yeah, playing Star Frontiers with you over Skype worked, but having a VTT to complement that would likely be necessary for a group game.
ReplyDeletecheck out vassel. it is a free boardgame emulator that can also do tabletop wargaming. you can play wahrhammer 40K with current rules, etc.
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