MMORPGs: The Future of RPGs?

They may not be the future of RPGs, but they'll certainly going to be a big part of it - if not the majority. I think we expected that. Interesting discussion here on Mike Mearls blog.

Do I think WoW is the death of traditional RPGs? No, but it - and the games that follow it - will certainly influence the future of tabletop games. I've got a lot more to say about that in the future when I get some time to write down and organize my thoughts on the subject.

I think the big key is what a particular player wants out of a game. If a game is fun and meets their needs, they'll play it whether it's tabletop or on-line. Otherwise, they'll seek alternatives.

Actually, let me change that - if the game meets their needs, they'll play it. I honestly don't think "fun" necessarily enters into the equation in many cases. Some people tend to have either an addictive or obsessive personality such that they will play a game to achieve some end regardless of whether they're having fun or not. I've seen it in tabletop RPGs, in LARPing, and I feel that's the case with many MMORPG players as well. I know I've put in plenty of time in WoW doing some quest simply because I was in a convenient place in the world, not because I really wanted to. Not to mention the fact that people will often spend hours at a shot in an instance and really regret having wasted the time afterwards.

Of course, that's not to say that WoW is never fun. I'm probably just jaded since I've played it so much (though not nearly as much as some people...). There are a lot of things we can take from the game, however, that can help make our tabletop games better...again, more on that in the future.

It's interesting - wargamers complained about tabletop RPGs, tabletop RPGers complained about CCGs, and tabletop RPGers are again complaining about MMORPGs. And yet we still have wargames...and tabletop RPGs...and CCGs.