When Scary wrote his piece on me and Roleplaying he was pretty much dead on with his assumptions. Let’s start at the beginning.
I remember being about 8 or 9 year old, and being in a store, and seeing this book. Advanced Dungeons, and Dragons Monster Manual. In it were all these fantasy creatures, and little blurbs in them about these creatures that would let my imagination run free. I fell in love with Roleplaying. That’s right, I said it. I love Role Playing.
As I grew up I played Dungeons, and Dragons, mostly Advanced, then I started branching out. Star Frontiers, a space based roleplaying game by TSR, there was Marvel Super Heroes as well. Then I got into DungeonMastering, and would really get into that. Buying graph paper to build my dungeons. I spent alot of Saturday nights eating chips, rolling dice, and creating worlds.
As time wore on the players who I played with no longer played Role Playing games, but my love never diminished. To this day even though I don’t actually play, I buy role playing books just in case. Remember Vampire The Masquerade, yea I got those books when they first came out just in case I found anyone who played….never did.
Meanwhile even though players were scarce for me, there were these computers that grew in popularity and power. It allowed me to play Role Playing Games, without anyone. I played such games as Bard’s Tale, and Pool of Radiance. Though it brought things more to life…there was something missing. I could never place my finger on it, still can’t, perhaps it was the human element, or lack of using your imagination.
Here we are today with MMO’s, and these people who call themselves Role Players. To me they are heretics of the craft which I love. Computers are not the evolution of roleplaying, but part of the devolution. It took something I loved, and made it foul, and dirty aka Pornshire. It made people elitist (Anna and her ilk), when that’s not what Role Playing is about. When I see a person on a role playing server telling me they are a vampire half orc, I want to role play I just made the first shotgun, and blow them to smithereens.
That being said I think as much as computers leading to the downfall of roleplay, I feel they can be the greatest boon to real roleplaying. I recently saw hope. People using tools like Skype, and other wonderful computer tools. Fellow guildies taking part in a Dungeons and Dragons game. Then the seminar with Fantasy Flight Games about their game Black Crusade.
Black Crusade got my Role Playing juices flowing again, and I am really excited about it. A game where you play a bad guy. Whoa never since AD&D with my lawful evil character have I been allowed to play the scum role, let alone a whole game revolving around the concept. I look forward to it coming out, and who knows maybe I’ll be rolling the d20 once more.
I also love it when a girl role plays a dirty cheerleader…but that’s another post for a different day.
So I got word the first wave of beta invites went out. Well I know I won’t be one, well cause I didn’t sign up for one, nor will I. First off I never really got into the Eldar Scrolls games, they never really appealed to me. Perhaps when they came out I was deep in the thrall of MMO’s, and if I want my RPG fix I’ll get it from that. Perhaps when I tried a game on the console I hated the controls,and UI. I prefer my RPG’s on computers, even then not so twitch oriented. Perhaps the lore didn’t really appeal to me. I don’t know really why I don’t get into, or even looking forward to ESO.
