RPGs, simulators, and comic con

[eagl]

Reading some news about the San Diego Comic Con got me thinking about why I got into simulation based computer gaming instead of role playing games, and why even first person shooters don't really do much for me except for the eye candy.  Although I really enjoyed Portal, I just never enjoyed placing myself into danger or intentionally being the bad guy, even in tabletop gaming.

Here is a summary of my first and only really serious attempt to tabletop role-play, a game called "top secret" where everyone was some sort of spy and tech gear was what people paid attention to (instead of levels and magic and stuff like that).

We spent about 2 hours building characters.  I was the new guy but everyone built a new character for this game because it was totally beginner oriented and they didn't want to bias the game.  I thought this was cool, learning things about uzis, mac-10s, the difference between 9mm and .357 magnum, etc.

The basic rules were explained, and the DM gave me the advice to imagine myself in the situation and do whatever I wanted.  Ok, I can handle that.

DM:  You and your friends are walking along downtown, looking for a place to have a drink and dinner.  You see a very non-descript place that outwardly seems like nothing special, yet everyone going in is well dressed.  You decide to go in to check it out.  As you approach the door, you see a woman dressed in expensive but rugged clothing pause at the door, glance at a note, then continue inside.  As she goes inside she tries to put the note in her pocket but apparently distracted by something, she doesn't realize that she dropped the note on the ground.

*pause*

Me:  I pick up the note and give it back to her.

DM:  *facepalm*

It went like that for about an hour before they gave up on me.  I simply couldn't come up with any sort of reasonable course of action that wasn't straight-up normal behavior.  Utterly epic fail.  I didn't go back for the next session.

Later on, I learned I really enjoyed simulators, especially flight, driving, and turn-based strategy sims like civ and a couple of others.  Because just "being me" doesn't completely fail in those games.

Anyhow, I was just thinking.  I also thought that comic con is pretty cool but if I ever tried to be more than a simple spectator, it would be an equally epic fail.  My brain just doesn't work that way.

[Hoffman]

Sheesh what an unimaginative DM... should have had her scream in panic, grab the note, have it tear in half in her frantic attempt to get away and have her disappear... leaving you with a cryptica half-note mystery to solve.

Half the fun of RPGs, especially table-tops and pen/paper, is having the right group of people to be around.  If the DM isn't all that imaginative, or unable to adapt the story to player actions, the game just won't be fun for anyone.

It... well.. it also helps to have alcohol, especially when your character is a raving drunk dwarven Barbarian who just realized the elf just drank the last of the beer.
That was a fun night.  We accomplished absolutely nothing in regards to actual story progression, next meeting the DM informed us that because we decided to spend the whole game smashing up the tavern/town/province, the evil we were supposed to fight just finished his evil plan and blew up the planet.

[Reschke]

Same thing happened to me eagl. My cousins were big D&D freaks and they tried to get me into that a few times...I was more concerned with the hows and the whys that some things worked in that weird world than what the character would do. I am now playing DayZ but trying to do it from a help whenever I can standpoint and spending some time with my oldest son chatting about guns and stuff with other guys is pretty good as well.

[Grayeagle]

nice

I played 'Top Secret' or something very like it long ago ..involved insertion onto an island installation to retreive/destroy a black box ..was a bit of fun.

Just did not stack up to exploring a dungeon though .. or adventuring with monster encounters.

'Grabs a silver tipped arrow, sites to the lower throat of the sleeping Silver Dragon, and lets fly.'

My hobbit died horribly shortly after .. was my first encounter in D&D ..little brown books, paper, pencil, dice an all.

Learned not to disturb Dragons for I was crunchy and good with Ketchup.

-Frank aka GE

[Ack-Ack]

You were doing it wrong eagl.  You should read The Saga of Bloodninja for proper role playing techniques that can serve you in all walks of life.

ack-ack

[Skuzzy]

I have never enjoyed RPG's and never have figured out what it takes to enjoy them.  I tried and just flat out failed at any of them.  Failed, in this context as being completely bored out of my mind. 

I cannot stand games that present puzzles, which take 30 precise steps to complete or you get to start over.   The only thing satisfying about that is, "carp, its finally over".

[Reschke]

I have never enjoyed RPG's and never have figured out what it takes to enjoy them.  I tried and just flat out failed at any of them.  Failed, in this context as being completely bored out of my mind.  

I cannot stand games that present puzzles, which take 30 precise steps to complete or you get to start over.   The only thing satisfying about that is, "carp, its finally over".

YEP that pretty much nailed it down for me right there.

There was one that I got into with my cousins but it didn't last long. It was a based on a setup where your troops got smashed and the Soviets controlled most of Western Europe and your group had to find a way back to the USA while evading the Soviets. Of course your characters could only have limited resources but you started in Czechoslavakia or Eastern Germany and had to get out via the Med or over to England. Then once you made it back to the USA you had to navigate decimated areas and cities since the Soviets had dropped tactical nukes on some cities and bombed the piss out of others with conventional weapons. That turned the USA into a mob state mentality. Then again in the mind of a 12 year old it was somewhat plausible in the mid 1980's.

[Maverick]

I used to play D&D a bit quite a few years ago, more years ago than many of you have been alive.  I was with a small group that had a rotating DM and that helped keep it fresh. It was always a bit of a stretch at times but the DM's were not sticking to an inflexible script. Taking the unexpected side trips often added a lot of laughs to the evening and often ended up replacing the original script. Thinking of a "mission" that was outside the box and how far you could take it was a great way to keep things interesting. All of us were friends though and that helped a lot in keeping it in "bounds" while being out of bounds.

It all depends on how seriously you take your fun. If you have to be all serious, it ain't no fun.