How Tabletop RPG Games Impacted the RPG Video Games
It’s no secret that role-playing games have a long and storied history, with roots stretching back to the 1970s. What many people don’t know is that the popular video game genre of RPGs we know today was heavily influenced by tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). These RPGs owed their success to the creative freedom they allowed players, allowing them to construct unique stories and scenarios in a way that video game consoles couldn’t replicate.
Players could work together with friends to build riveting narratives that spanned multiple gaming sessions. This collaboration within the group is something that RPG video games now replicate with unique story-driven experiences. In this blog post, we’ll explore five ways in which tabletop role-playing games impacted the RPG video game genre.
Character Customization
One of the most significant impacts of tabletop RPGs on RPG video games is character customization. Character customization has become integral to creating a unique gaming experience for many players. In both types of role-playing games, players create characters based on specific rules and attributes set out by either a game’s system or an individual Dungeon Master (DM). However, in tabletop RPGs, these characters can be as detailed as a player wants them to be.
This gives them more freedom to customize their character’s physical features, personality traits, and backstories than in an RPG video game. As such, this level of detail has resulted in developers trying to create more in-depth character customization options for their titles to give players greater control over how they create and play their characters. For instance, in a video game like Ready or Not, players can easily customize armor and headwear to suit their gameplay.
Interactive Storytelling
Another major impact that tabletop RPGs have had on RPG video games is interactive storytelling. Tabletop RPGs rely heavily on players actively creating stories together and engaging with each other through dialogue and narrative elements within the game. This same type of interactive storytelling can be seen in many popular RPG video games today, where developers use cutscenes and dialogue choices to immerse players in the stories being told.
The biggest advantage that tabletop gaming has over its digital counterpart is its ability for improvisation when it comes to storytelling, something that some aspects of modern-day RPG video games are trying to replicate through branching storylines and different endings based on decisions made throughout gameplay.
Grinding
Grinding has long been associated with tabletop and video game role-playing titles. In both cases, grinding refers to repetitive tasks such as fighting monsters or completing missions to gain experience points or rewards such as gold or items needed for crafting weapons or armor. While some gamers view it negatively due to its tediousness, grinding is still an important element in many role-playing titles.
This is due to its ability to add challenge or difficulty levels needed for certain gameplay experiences, such as online multiplayer battles found in MMORPGs like World Of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV Online. Ultimately, grinding is something that allows players in both types of games to gain rewards or experience needed to progress further in the game.
Both RPGs Share Common Elements
Whether you are a fan of traditional tabletop gaming or prefer playing RPG video games, these two forms of entertainment share many common elements that have helped shape one another into what we know today as “RPGs” (Role Playing Games). The similarities and improvements we see today in RPG video games are made possible by innovative developers and those who pioneered these types of games decades ago with little more than pen & paper.
Miley Dowing (dailycupoftech.com) Miley is the founder and IT consultant with Daily Cup of Tech who helps digital businesses reach their full online potential. Miley is passionate about programming and IT consulting. Her current focus is helping SaaS businesses create a better world for our kids. He frequently writes about the latest advancements in the digital and tech industry.
Now on Kickstarter
Aelx’s Bombastic Oddities is a system-agnostic TTRPG GM sourcebook for the new, the confused, and the ones no one takes time to think about. Contained in this book is a collection of useful and inspiring creations designed to do one thing: spark something. That’s the real purpose of this book, not to tell you what to create but to lead you to create it all on your own. Our hope is that the things in this book serve as anchor points that propel your mind into the sea of life abundant and allow the spark of inspiration to burst into a cataclysm that can only be tamed by furious writing of your newfound ideas.
We tried to create a book that held everything you needed to get started with GMing in any fantasy setting without stepping on the toes of your own creativity because that is the most important part here.
The book includes:
A pantheon of Gods someone could pick up in a day but also have many layers and folds that one might find a spark in.
Thoughtfully crafted homebrew races, born of the god’s love, give multiple ways of play.
10 NPC examples of how to go from a classic trope to a multifaceted person (One of which could be YOU) as well as tables of character pillars for your creative needs
This book has been written and produced with accessibility AND inclusion woven into every seam and every word. This includes but is not limited to changes from the industry norm like including a pronunciation appendix that uses “like” sounds, not syntax, font choices, sizing choices, etc. The book has been proofread by dyslexics, color blind folks, people who struggle with migraines, visually impaired folks, and people for whom English is their second language to give the most inclusive and painless experience while reading Aelx’s Bombastic Oddities.
Aelx’s Bombastic Oddities is written by Aelx Bomb, who is a queer, disabled (Schizoaffective Bipolar) woman who also has ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia. She got her start in 2019 by posting GM advice, plot ideas, and NPCs on TikTok. In 2020 she moved part of her fan base over to her now thriving discord and Twitch channels where she streams 4 days a week about community, life, and nerdy stuff. To read a special message from Aelx about this project click here
Crit Academy is thrilled to partner with Aelx and help bring this project to life. We have been publishing 5e D&D resources since 2018 and are now expanding into system-agnostic content. We have released dozens of products on DM's Guild and Drive-Thru RPG, most becoming bestsellers. Aelx’s Bombastic Oddities will be our 5th Kickstarter project.
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