Comments on: A Quality Of Spirit – Big Questions in RPGs

By: Mike Bourke

Mike Bourke — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:10:31 +0000

There are several more posts in the works relating to these campaigns, Karl (that’s why I voted for them to have their own categories, so that people that are interested could get a better view of each specific campaign). The important thing when considering a “big picture” question is working the implications down to the mundane levels so that you know how they will affect the PCs, and so that any game mechanics that are affected can be covered in a House Rule – often without explanation (at least at the start of a campaign)! One of these days I’ll probably write a post on how to do that – but it’s a VERY big topic.

By: Karl R.

Karl R. — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:00:50 +0000

Amazing post. I’d never before considered the importance of metaphysical questions like this in a campaign world, but having read the post, my mind is reeling with possibilities.

On a side note, I’d love to see more posts about the campaigns you’ve run of this (both the original and the sequels).

By: Johnn

Johnn — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:46:35 +0000

Neat post, Mike. Timely too as I’m in world creation mode for my 4E campaign. Looks like I need more introspection, as I haven’t yet considered the source of magic or where the gods came from. I have decided that souls are the currency of the gods, but haven’t flesh out that too much yet.

By: Mike Bourke

Mike Bourke — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:10:41 +0000

Hi Richard,

Call me Mike – we’re all friends here! I agree that if you get into a video game expecting the same level of interactivity as you get with tabletop gaming, then you will be sorely dissappointed. However, this is a failure of unrealistic expectations more than an inherant flaw in the medium, I think; the difference between the two is comparable to the difference between a diorama and a play concerning the same action. Often, you can get closer to the diorama and examine it more minutely, with more details being revealed after careful examination, than is the case when attending a play, but it remains a static, “frozen” perspective of the event depicted. Provided that the game designers have considered ‘the big questions’, they can be just as rewarding and fulfilling – for a time – as a tabletop RPG. Whether or not they can sustain this level of reward is an entirely different question. Thanks for taking the time to comment, I’m glad you found it worthwhile.

By: Richard Whipple

Richard Whipple — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:15:24 +0000

Mr. Bourke;

Your post, “A Quality of Spirit,” has made a strong point for why a video game can never equate a tabletop RPG – in the same vein Plato wrote that Socrates said all writing is dead. Video games may present a world view from a set point in time but they lack the level of interactivity to help shape such exploration in the present course of game play. Better to play a box game of Scrupples than a “computer RPG” IMHO.

A long Blog post but worth the time in reading. Thank you very much for articulating your insight. I am glad not to be the only one who agonizes over such behind the scenes trivia that, IMHO, make RPGs universally appealing across many age groups.