Spring Break
Gaming outside of the box
Jason M. Wallace
Issue date: 10/16/08 Section: Opinion
I have been trying to set up a game of Dungeons and Dragons for some friends and I to play since August. Besides taking time to learn the rules and working around everyone's schedule, finding players is a tough process. It may be because they are trying to avoid the air of cultural nerdiness that comes with Dungeons and Dragons. It may also be that young people's imaginations have been destroyed by the digital game age.
Tabletop games compared to console video games are like an open-ended project to a set of math problems. Tabletop games allow for players to be creative and resourceful while video games force players to resolve situations within a fixed set of rules.
For those who have not experienced a game of Dungeons and Dragons, and other similar tabletop games, it is a popular fantasy role-playing game run by two components. Half of the game relies on a set of numeric rules controlled by throwing dice. The other half relies on the imagination of the storyteller or the dungeon master, who narrates the fantasy-based story. A dungeon master will describe a setting and scenario, and the characters will work together navigating through the setting to accomplish the objective however they see fit. By being able to make unique choices through collaborating with other players, tabletop games allow the players to be much more creative in constructing a gaming situation that is much more gratifying than a video game.
A common day video game (mainly focusing on first-person shooters, action and role-playing games) sets up a rendered setting, a situation and character for a player. The television screen displays the character's setting and most of the time the character itself. The story is usually set and really inflexible. After stripping a player of all creative control and outlook of the game, all that is left is hours of learning complex button combinations in order to move the character from one point to the next to advance the in-game story to a usually predictable, classic Hollywood movie type ending. Because of the lack of choice in video games, I don't find them to be nearly as enjoyable as the uniqueness of a tabletop game.
Tabletop games compared to console video games are like an open-ended project to a set of math problems. Tabletop games allow for players to be creative and resourceful while video games force players to resolve situations within a fixed set of rules.
For those who have not experienced a game of Dungeons and Dragons, and other similar tabletop games, it is a popular fantasy role-playing game run by two components. Half of the game relies on a set of numeric rules controlled by throwing dice. The other half relies on the imagination of the storyteller or the dungeon master, who narrates the fantasy-based story. A dungeon master will describe a setting and scenario, and the characters will work together navigating through the setting to accomplish the objective however they see fit. By being able to make unique choices through collaborating with other players, tabletop games allow the players to be much more creative in constructing a gaming situation that is much more gratifying than a video game.
A common day video game (mainly focusing on first-person shooters, action and role-playing games) sets up a rendered setting, a situation and character for a player. The television screen displays the character's setting and most of the time the character itself. The story is usually set and really inflexible. After stripping a player of all creative control and outlook of the game, all that is left is hours of learning complex button combinations in order to move the character from one point to the next to advance the in-game story to a usually predictable, classic Hollywood movie type ending. Because of the lack of choice in video games, I don't find them to be nearly as enjoyable as the uniqueness of a tabletop game.
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