Net Running: An Exploration of Online Role-playing

It is probably not surprising that there is a fairly large overlap of people who enjoy role- playing games and people who use the Internet. What may be surprising, however, are the number of ways that Internet use and RPGs are intersecting. This article will look at some of those ways from the viewpoint of a tabletop and LARP gamer.

MMRPGs

The most obvious junctions of RPG and Internet have to be the huge Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games. Everquest, Balder's Gate, Asheron's Call and the like are very well represented on the net and pretty well known to most gamers online. These MMRPGs have hundreds of people online at once and are both graphically advanced and slickly produced.

MMPRGs tend to be very linear as well. While many have a plot or story arc, this plot is static and no actions taken by the players of the game is really going to affect it. In short order it becomes obvious that any actions your character tasks have no effect, good or bad on the 'world' around them. For that reason it could be argued that these are not actually RPGs in the traditional sense.

While these games do have strong RP elements, it is obvious that they owe far more to their Computer RPG roots than the pen and paper RPG game design. Elements of experience gathering and treasure finding seem to take precedence over character development. While very satisfying for the casual 'PC Gamer' these games leave many tabletop and LARP gamers feeling bored or frustrated after a while.

MuX

MuX could be called the 'poor cousins' of the MMRPGs. MuX is blanket term designed to include MUD (multi-user dungeon/domain), MUSH (Multi-user Shared Hallucination) and the subcategories of these two forms of online environment. A MuX is basically a text based telnet application that allows two or more users to interact via a program set up on an Internet server. In plain English, they could be summed up as a combination of an old Infocom text game like Zork and a chat program. MuX vary widely in style, proficiency of design and application.

All interaction is based on typed messages. While that sounds very limiting at first, all MuX have several commands that allow a much wider spectrum of expression than one would first suppose. Whisper, Shout, Tell (a sort of private telepathic exchange) and Emote (or Do) are common. The last is a command with amazing flexibility due to its utter simplicity. It allows you to send a text string to the MuX describing your actions or words. More advanced MuX have an even more options.

RP MUSHes use a 'rules light' philosophy. After logging in to MUSH one designs a character that consists mostly of a name, description and a security rating. The security rating, designated by the operators of the MUSH site, determines what your character can do. Depending on the MUSH this ranges from just being able to walk and talk all the way up to being able to create your own world within the MUSH.

Many RP MUSHes are very heavily structured and have the feel of a RP campaign that has gone on for many years. Many of the characters have a wealth of history and experience behind them. While this can lead to good RP, it tends to limit new characters quite a bit. Most MuX have existing hierarchies and because of the transient nature of Internet RP, new players can find the older ones distant and aloof.

MUSHes attract many people from many different walks of life. There is a preponderance of college age students but it is not as pronounced as you will find in MUDs. MuX players of both varieties tend to be quite articulate and literate (and both tend to be slightly snobbish towards weak English skills) but MUSH players seem to be somewhat more accepting, as a whole, of new players and differing styles of RP.

RP MUDs are more rules intensive as a rule. MUDS are just as diverse as MUSHes. There are many sets of MUD 'Code'. To the tabletop gamer these are most closely analogous with the game System used to play an RPG. A new player who logs onto a MUD can expect to spend at least the next ten minutes or so designing a character. Most MUDs are class and level based, although there is an ongoing trend towards more 'experienced based' systems.

RP MUDS tend to be a blend of experience grabbing, looting and social interaction. On your typical RP MUD, the importance or influence of your character tends to be in direct proportion to the level of 'code' ability of that character. In other words, a character who is significantly advanced in terms of the game mechanics tends to be higher on the social status ladder of the MUD. While this as definite hints of 'power gaming', this experience based social mechanic is actually a natural function of MUD social dynamics. Players who only spend a month or two online are less likely to be involved in 'major' (MUD wide) plots that would suffer significantly if the key players simply stopped logging on.

Some RP MUDs also develop highly involved and ongoing RP. As with MUSHes these continuing plots can be hard to access at first but are equally rewarding in terms of getting exciting and/or interesting Role Play. Unfortunately, on most RP MUDs PK (Player Killing) is a part of life. This basically allows for battles between players. While tabletop and LARP games also have mechanics for this on some MUDs PK is practically a religion.

MUDs also tend to attract a younger crowd than MUSHes. A majority of the players on a MUD are college students with a fairly random sprinkling of age groups older and younger than that. Because of the relative youth and total anonymity of the player base involved, most RP MUDs tend to have a small but significant number of people most of us would not game with in real life. Truly dedicated munchkins and products of unbelievably bad socialization are present and very vocal on most MUDs.

When run fairly and blessed with a stable, talented player base, MuX can rival the experience of tabletop or LARP games. The all text environment can actually focus the imagination on the events of the game and players have a wide latitude on most MuX to help shape the world they play in for good or ill. Sadly however, MuX are rarely blessed with fair administration and a talented player base. You will most likely have to do quite a bit of searching before you find a MuX that suits your RP style and sensibilities.

Chat RPGs

Chat programs are some of the oldest and post popular applications on the web. From the thousands of channels available on the IRC chat system to simple Java chat applications anyone with web access has access to chat rooms. Chat based RPGs attract a small but dedicated player base.

Chat RPGs run the range from informal Internet meetings that turn into an impromptu session of Amber to elaborately scheduled and orchestrated events on a dedicated IRC channel. Like LARP gaming, there is a stronger emphasis on playing the role rather than system mechanics. Unlike MuX, the methods of expression are somewhat more limited.

Chat RPGs tend to be a bit different than either the MMRPGs or MuX of the preceding sections. To enter a Chat RPG all you have to do is enter the chat room or channel. Most people use their character's name as their log in name but it is not mandatory in most games.

As in any other gaming style, a good GM with a good concept and execution can make Chat RPGs a lot of fun. However, many Chat RPG sessions are performed 'free form' with no mediation what so ever. While these are sometimes fine, Chat RPGs tend to create a lot of 'Did not! Did too!' situations as people disagree about what their individual characters were capable of in a given situation.

Chat RPGs can be a very comfortable option to your average 'weekend' gamer. The gamer can slip right into the RP and extricating yourself is just as easy. In many ways a Chat RPG is like a game with your friends. The experience retains some of that 'sitting around the table with your friends' feel.

Playing a Chat based RPG is an exercise in compromise. A limited ability to express your self vs. quick and easy to find games and game flexibility vs. lack of structure are two of the main questions. The answers tend, as with tabletop or LARP games, to depend on the people you are gaming with.

RPG Clients

The idea of facilitating tabletop games in an online environment seems to be gaining some popularity. Thanks to a few very good pieces of software, the concept of bringing tabletop gaming to the 'net is now fulfilled.

An RPG Client is a software package that allows you to play Role Playing Games online. These incorporate a chat program but also include such things as In Character and Out Of Character communication, dice rolling (via built in 'randomizing' programs) and even visual maps or file downloads. This is a relatively new field and there are not a lot of full featured RPG clients available at the moment. The most popular one appears to be GRIP.

RPG Clients are the closest thing I have found to the feeling of tabletop gaming on the Internet. The GM hosts a session while the players log into the host module like pulling up chairs around the dining room table. Players and the GM can speak with everyone at once or just one person at a time, allowing for private RP without 'spamming' everyone else (spamming in chats or MuX is basically flooding other people's screens with things they don't need to see).

GRIP also has a feature to allow the GM to 'project' maps and both the players and GM to mark on a 'white board' utility to show position or illustrate points. This allows a GM to present their games in much the same way as they would in a tabletop game.

There are many other utilities available on the net for Client based RP, ranging from simple dice rolling kits to other gaming clients. A quick browse with a good search engine should turn up a few decent ones. While these lack a cohesive integrated package they can be used in conjunction with web based or IRC chats when necessary.

The RPG client industry is still very much in it's infancy. However, if the promise shown so far continues to grow, I would not be surprised to find it becoming the most popular form of Role Playing on the Internet. A few sites already have 'wanted' boards up seeking other players or GMs to use GRIP or other products, although it can still be hard to find a good group. All in all, this isn't a bad option at all.

The Future

The future looks very bright indeed for online gaming. There are indications that the Internet gaming experience is going to get closer and closer to the tabletop or LARP experience in the next few years. This is a look at a few of the technologies that are going to help facilitate that.

Broadband Communications

As revolutionary to the Internet as the Internet was to society, Broadband is becoming increasingly available all around the world. Broadband communications don't just mean that you'll connect faster; it means you can connect to more. This technology makes the other items mentioned below possible.

Video Conferencing RP

While this is technically available today, I have included it in the future department because of the lack of broadband coverage worldwide and the fact that few, if any, video conferencing packages I have seen would lend themselves well to online role-playing. However, the technology is already in place to allow GMs to run games 'face to face' with a group of players who are scattered from Antarctica to Zaire for only the price of his cable modem and camera.

Graphic MuX

Again, this is an option that is just around the corner. Many games are released as multi-player these days and a couple of those are designed to facilitate RP as well. Vampire: Redemption is one of those, with GM scenarios and completely customizable NPC and location editors. The GM can even take control of NPCs and facilitate RP directly.

Neverwinter Nights is due to be released some time this year. The Game will have similar features to V:R and it will be based on the D20 system from Wizards. The company producing Neverwinter Nights, Bioware, claims that the game's scenario designer and server software will allow PC users to set up free versions of the game on their servers playable by anyone who has the Neverwinter Nights game.

The concept of translating tabletop RPGs to real-time online RPGs is an exciting one. However, it should be noted that these two examples are slightly ahead of their times in terms of accessibility for the common user. Both require computers with good graphics handling and presuppose a fairly fast connection to the Internet. Despite the claims of both PR departments, 28k modems just are not fast enough to enjoy these games. The cost in video cards, cable modem connections and the base games themselves puts a fairly big dent in the budget of most gamers.

In Conclusion

Online Gaming is as diverse as its tabletop and LARP counterparts. Perhaps it is more diverse, as those mediums at least have almost universal assumptions in some areas. (The rules usually come in book or booklet form, there will be some task resolution system, etc.) Internet Gaming seems to be a study in using different tools to accomplish the same goal, but the goal, by and large, is one that most of us recognize and appreciate: To participate in a shared story and have fun doing it. Online gaming will probably never replace tabletop or LARP games but it does make a nice alternative for those with no access to a group or those who just want to RP in a different medium.

Storytelling is probably one of the oldest and most beloved diversions of mankind, reaching back from the era of humans first harnessing fire and stretching forward into the 21st century and beyond. We are lucky enough to live in a time when any of us have the tools to be storyteller, a mythmaker, and to share those stories with others. The Internet is just a larger circle around that campfire. Go share a story.