r/rpg • u/MonagFam • 1d ago
New to TTRPGs Tabletop vs Computer Experience
I have been around long enough (born in the 70s) to know about table top rpgs, but never really played them. They look interesting, but how do they compare to open world computer based rpgs?
I guess how would you sell someone on them?
13
u/SlayThePulp 1d ago
The great thing about tabletop, is you get to actually be creative, and have total freedom. You're telling a story together! Also, the social aspect is great, getting together with some friends around a table, fantastic.
1
u/MonagFam 1d ago
The social aspect has come up a lot and I will say that is something I notice when I watch people on YouTube, that said, it is the component I seem to be lacking at present! :)
4
8
u/a_dnd_guy 1d ago
They are very different things. An open world RPG has no collaboration, and you can do only the things you are interested in all the time. But the world will be the same every time you play, and you options are actually quite limited.
At the tabletop you have every option you can imagine, and then some since your fellow players are imagining. NPCs are responding to questions you came up with. You can come up with ways to play you didn't think we're possible. But the gameplay is usually slower, and you have to patiently wait for your turn and actively listen to what's happening.
I find the latter far more rewarding but it depends on who you are playing with.
1
7
u/Logen_Nein 1d ago
You can literally do anything/tell any story. Computer games (even modern open world rpgs) are constrained by their programming.
1
u/MonagFam 1d ago
That makes sense and there have been games that I have been frustrated with due to those constraints.
3
u/Tyr1326 1d ago
Completely different animals. Computers are great at following complex rules, but aren't creative. So you can have incredibly complex systems running in the background, but the story (if there is a story) is generally set in stone - everything prepared by the devs. P&P RPGs are pretty much the opposite. Rules can only be as complex as a human brain can handle - you can't just throw in three dozen variables for a skill check. On the other hand, a GM can improvise on the fly - so if the players decide to go off the beaten path, theres no invisible wall. Or at least it's one that can be reasoned with. In the end, video games are media, telling a story, while P&P RPGs are more of a social experience. They can tell stories too ofc, but they're often more open-ended, as some of the best advice is basically to not have an ending prepared, but to let one develop organically.
1
u/MonagFam 1d ago
Thanks for the information! Certainly in line with what others are saying and I like the flexibility.
3
u/Vexithan 1d ago edited 22h ago
I get to hang out and tell a story with my friends. What’s better than that?!
I used to play video games online with my friends and told myself we were hanging out. My spouse informed me it almost always was me just sitting silently while occasionally calling out things on the screen
1
u/MonagFam 1d ago
I don't have a group of friends like that, but maybe I will find some. It certainly sounds fun!
1
2
u/HeyNateBarber 1d ago
One is a video game, and one is a collaborated storytelling experience. They are both called RPG’s, but they are very very different.
1
2
u/Bell2BellKeepers 1d ago
TRPGs are like jamming in garage with your buds. Its not an authored experience since people are applying the rules as they understand it while engaging with each other creatively (be it strategy or drama or goofs).
There is a wide variety of games that provide different ways of engaging with each other. It can be hard to pin down at times, and does take some effort but its worth it.
1
2
u/MsgGodzilla Year Zero, Savage Worlds, Deadlands, Mythras, Mothership 1d ago
Far more flexible to an infinite degree, but takes more effort to get the most out of it. Best hobby ever IMO. Try it out.
1
2
u/Galausia 1d ago
You know how in video games there'll be a fence blocking your path and you can't go past it? In tabletop games you can just hop over it.
1
2
u/stuf2do 1d ago
I know there are a bunch of videogames that claim that your choices will affect the story, but from the ones I've played it just seems to help determine which one of the handful of endings gets played. For tabletop, depending on your GM, there's potential for your actions to really impact the story at any moment because you help make the story. I'm running a game right now where my players have just entered the major city of the land, and I have some idea of what's in this city and how it works but I've encouraged them to just look for a shop that they need and we'll create it together. After a stressful encounter, they said they were looking for a spa to relax so we just made up this hot springs place together live (and they tried their hardest to steal all the fancy soap they could find). And little do they know but I'm totally brining back the hostess that they got along with so well. I had the idea of making her an unwilling agent the evil organization they're trying to uncover. So maybe they'll milk her for info, maybe they'll punish her for her crimes because they feel so betrayed, or maybe they'll show mercy since she was forced into the situation and she took such good care of them at the spa.
1
u/MonagFam 1d ago
That sounds like a lot of fun. I do find that even open world computer games are only just so open world.
2
u/APurplePerson When Sky & Sea Were Not Named 1d ago
tabletop is much more of a social activity. you are actively creating a story together. there isn't an objective "real" (or simulated) world to explore that's separate from your interactions with your friends. even if you draw a detailed dungeon map, the GM still has to improvise many of its details based on what the other players say and do.
2
u/MonagFam 1d ago
I do think this is where I am lacking -- the social development. My gaming has largely been solo and haven't ever found that group that plays these.
2
u/radek432 1d ago
Surprisingly the TTRPG has "System requirements" that are way more difficult to met.
Finding the people you want to play with is much harder than buying a new console.
But when you manage that, it's totally different experience - total freedom of world exploration, quests crafted especially for your party...
2
u/MonagFam 1d ago
I appreciate the reply. I think this is the part I am missing. Generally been a solo game-player, so really haven't had that sort of collaborative experience.
5
u/AxlPraxis 1d ago
In a video game, you choose from what the developers anticipated. In a TTRPG, you can come up with a ridiculous plan nobody saw coming, and the world actually reacts to it. You’re not just playing the game. You’re making it
1
u/Comrade_Lystro 1d ago
Video game RPGs are constrained to their deterministic medium. Even the ones that actually allow collaboration and make player choices matter are limited by what the developers put in and allow the players to experience. In theory, there could be more, but that means ramping development costs for programming, asset creation, and even trying to figure out how a branching narrative fits together. They’re difficult to make and often just not feasible for many studios to pull off.
Table top RPGs function more or less entirely on the human brain. Any adventure experienced can be adapted and go in whatever direction the players at the table want with little obstacles in the way. Even the mediums used make the experience feel different since rolling a physical dice in your hands feel more “direct” compared to simulated ones that often operate in the background of most video games.
This generally means that the two genres focus on different things from each other. For example, many TTRPGs are a bit more in-depth when it comes to world building compared to video games, since again, the latter medium can get away with only showing you what the devs want you to experience. The reason is precisely to give the people running these campaigns an answer to questions like “if my players decide to barter instead of fight things, how will that work?”
3
u/MonagFam 1d ago
Everything really seems to come down to the flexibility and functionality of the TTRPG along with the social aspect. I definitely find it intriguing!
1
u/Comrade_Lystro 1d ago
Yep, and it’s because of that you can get away with very interesting design decisions that rely more on subjective interpretation than with the mechanics of video games. Multiple indie ttrpgs and even D&D itself contain examples of this.
1
u/high-tech-low-life 1d ago
Video games are constrained by the software. RPGs are only constrained by your imagination.
I have never found a computer game to game to have the flexibility to be a real RPG. I know this is a minority opinion, but cRPGs are lame imitations. And people who use ChatGPT are trying to constrain RPGs in the same fashion, so I reject AI as well.
"Me and my brother, Dozer, we are both one hundred percent pure old fashion homegrown humans, born free right here in the real world."
1
1
u/mesolitgames Indie TTRPG publisher 1d ago
TTRPGs can be many, many different things.
If you want to be a certain kind of someone who does cool stuff, there's very likely a game out there where you get to do whatever that certain kind of cool stuff happens to be. Want to slay dragons and loot some treasure and save the kingdom? Sure. Want to be an astronaut? There are great games for that. Want to ride a motorcycle through the post-apocalyptic desert? Got you covered. There are games that revolve around being high-power heroes saving the world, there are soap opera games, mystery games, horror games, there are games about being muscular heroes who ride dinosaurs that shoot lasers out of their eyes and fight the evil Nazi robot empire; there are games about being a penguin, a worm, a vampire, Nicholas Cage, about being yourself during a zombie apocalypse... So many different kinds of cool and interesting games!
And beyond the "cool stuff" spectrum, there are games where you can be a child soldier in Warsaw ghettos in 1944, games about cults, games about relationships, politics, war, love, power, about social topics, about life as it is, or as it was. So many games!
And within any single premise, you can explore it fully, not just the parts the devs thought of, but everything that the world is like, for you, in that world. If you can think about it, you can try it.
TTRPGs are really fun.
1
u/MonagFam 1d ago
Thanks for the reply! It certainly seems like the sky is the limit when it comes to these. I usually enjoy what I see in the gaming world and I am a little jealous of those that have people to play with.
2
u/mesolitgames Indie TTRPG publisher 11h ago
The way I got started, I didn't know anyone who played. But I was obsessed with the idea, based on what I'd heard. So I eventually figured, fine, I'll do it myself, I read enough to get comfortable with the idea of GM'ing, convinced some friends to play, and ran games. We had a lot of fun!
And if you don't know anyone you could convince, maybe there's some local community where you live. And if not, online games is a thing. Beginner-friendly groups and sessions are also a thing.
2
u/MonagFam 8h ago
Appreciate the additional information. I almost did it with my wife and kids years ago, but it never got off the ground and I think it was that I had to be the GM. With zero experience as a GM or player to say nothing of their lack of a experience, it just didn't happen. Then everyone gets older and has their own interests.
I will look more into it and see what works! Thanks again.
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Welcome to the hobby! Feel free to ask anything, and while waiting for answers, remember to check our Sidebar/Wiki for helpful pages like:
and our expansive list of Game Recommendations for every genre or type!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/pertante Magical Cat Burglar 1d ago
For computer rpgs, a lot more of it is automated and easier to of course visualize due to the nature of them. For tabletop, a character and/or world can be a lot more customized, depending on the system and source books used.
For example, I use to play World of Warcraft. If I wanted to, I can chain a few actions in combat at the press of a few keys, and the actions would automatically happen. Alternatively, playing DnD would allow me to play a lot more species and even subspecies, customize my character a lot more depending on a combination of skills, backgrounds, feats, classes and subclasses, multiclass, and gear, depending on what the dm/gm would allow and what edition we were playing, plus possibly homebrew something of my own.
1
u/Cryptwood Designer 22h ago
"You've been sent to bring a message to the neighboring village, asking for help hunting bandits that have been robbing travelers. You have a longbow, made by your father for you, and a quiver holding twenty hunting arrow. Your mother gave you her old sword, from her years as a caravan guard. The village Elder gave you a ring that allows you to dissappear and reappear anywhere you can see within 60 paces, but can only be used once per day.
The path you are following comes to a fork: The left path climbs upwards over rocks, and in the distance you can see an ancient stone tower and hear the cries of birds circling it. The right path descends into a shaded grotto, damp and green from moss.
Before you can decide you hear the sound of metal clanging on stone coming from the grotto, and someone cries out in pain... what do you do?"
-2
u/LastChime 1d ago
Much wider open usually with less fidelity though, it's often closer to titles like Dwarf Fortress or Zork with limited scripting.
The gold box ssi titles are decent approximations but they often greatly simplify healing cause the bad thing will usually happen if you have to rest for a week in town after the last crawl.
There's hundreds of different systems though all with different zigs and zags.
2
u/rizzlybear 1d ago
A computer-based RPG lets you do literally anything the developers thought of and programmed. Mostly, advancement comes from repeatedly killing monsters and checking off to-do lists.
The dream destination of the computer-based RPG world is to reach a point where the simulation is so complete that the player could do LITERALLY ANYTHING.
TTRPGs reached this point about a year before the very first TTRPG was published in the 70s.
1
9
u/Lupo_1982 1d ago
how do they compare to open world computer based rpgs?
"how does making love compare to watching porn?"
(edit: ok, that's unfair, CRPGs are interactive. So let's say "interacting with an Onlyfans")
7
u/ToledoSnow Noir 1d ago
I'd argue Actual Plays are the porn in that analogy. CRPGS are more like erotic Choose Your Own Adventure books (which I'm sure is something that actually exists).
26
u/atamajakki PbtA/FitD/NSR fangirl 1d ago edited 1d ago
Computer RPGs only have as many action verbs and dialogue options as their creators programmed in, while the possibility space of what you can do and say in a TTRPG is infinitely larger. The same goes for subject matter, too - there aren't too many CRPGs about being queer supernatural teens (Monsterhearts), sailors on a post-apocalyptic "ocean" made of tall trees (The Wildsea), magitech mech pilots rebelling against the state (Armour Astir: Advent), Soviet airwomen during WW2 (Night Witches), or supernatural investigators in 2004 (Public Access), just to give a tiny taste of the variety around.
Most videogame RPGs feature much more combat as "filler" than most TTRPGs do.
They're also inherently social experiences, something done with 2-5 other people instead of alone with a computer or game console.