The Tviews Table Role-Playing Game

Journal of Virtual Reality and Broadcasting, Volume 5(2008), no. 8 The TViews Table Role-Playing Game Ali Mazalek, Basil Mironer, Elijah O’Rear, Dana Van Devender Synaesthetic Media Lab, GVU Center Georgia Institute of Technology 85 5th Street NW, TSRB 209, Atlanta, GA 30332 +1 404 385 3179, email: [email protected] www: synlab.gatech.edu Abstract 1 Introduction The TViews Table Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) is People across all cultures and age groups engage in a digital tabletop role-playing game that runs on the different forms of gameplay and storytelling, in both TViews table, bridging the separate worlds of tradi- analog and digital form. As pastimes, games and sto- tional role-playing games with the growing area of rytelling offer various kinds of benefits, such as en- massively multiplayer online role-playing games. The tertainment, relaxation, skill building, and competitive TViews table is an interactive tabletop media platform challenges. Many games incorporate storytelling ele- that can track the location of multiple tagged objects in ments, and certain stories also unfold in a game-like real-time as they are moved around its surface, provid- form. ing a simultaneous and coincident graphical display. One form of storytelling gameplay that has gained In this paper we present the implementation of the first appeal since the 1970s are role-playing games, com- version of TTRPG, with a content set based on the tra- monly referred to as RPGs. In RPGs, the players take ditional Dungeons & Dragons rule-set. We also dis- on the roles of fictional characters that they themselves cuss the results of a user study that used TTRPG to have created, and work together to tell a story within explore the possible social context of digital tabletop a given system of rules. In traditional role-playing role-playing games. games that are played face-to-face in small groups, the activity is guided by a game master, who helps to steer and shape the unfolding story, for example by setting challenges for the players to overcome. Story building happens in an improvisational manner, as partici- Keywords: Tabletop platform, tangible interaction, pants determine the actions of their characters within role-playing games, social interaction, game design the framework of the game, and collectively weave the fragments of the story into a coherent whole. With the growth of personal computing and the in- Digital Peer Publishing Licence ternet, role-playing games have spread to the digital Any party may pass on this Work by electronic networked realm. These digital RPGs make extensive means and make it available for download under use of emerging computer technologies to enhance the terms and conditions of the current version gameplay by immersing viewers into virtual worlds of the Digital Peer Publishing Licence (DPPL). with stunning graphics and complex artificial intel- The text of the licence may be accessed and ligence based rule engines. Using the internet as a retrieved via Internet at medium for play, massively multi-player online role- http://www.dipp.nrw.de/. playing games (MMORPGs) operate in a networked First presented at the 4th International Symposium mode and can engage thousands of players at a time. on Pervasive Gaming Applications, PerGames 2007, In these games, the face-to-face social interaction that extended and revised for JVRB is central to traditional role-playing games that take urn:nbn:de:0009-6-14913, ISSN 1860-2037 Journal of Virtual Reality and Broadcasting, Volume 5(2008), no. 8 ter who orchestrates a lively context for the unfolding game through improvised storytelling. In this paper, we examine the context of tabletop RPGs and discuss related work on digital tabletop technologies and games. We then present our implementation of the first TTRPG system based on the Dungeons & Dragons rule-set and discuss the infor- mal player feedback as well as the results of a user evaluation that explored the possible social context of digital tabletop RPGs. 2 Background Context Figure 1: Two players at the TTRPG game table Narrative role-playing has been around in the perform- ing arts for centuries, and can be seen as a precursor to today’s tabletop RPGs. For example, from its ori- place in shared physical space has been replaced with gins in ancient Greece, theatre evolved as a storytelling remote interaction in shared virtual spaces online. De- form in which actors take on the roles of characters spite the rapid growth in popularity of digital and on- and perform them in front of a live audience. While line games, market research conducted by traditional most stage plays are tightly scripted, an improvisa- RPG manufacturer Wizards of the Coast indicates that tional form of theatre known as Commedia dell’arte there are still significant numbers of people who enjoy gained prominence in 16th century Europe, making non-digital role-playing games (˜2.25 million regular use of a basic set of characters and situations to cre- players in 2000, with an additional ˜3.25 million oc- ate different stories at each show. casional players) [Dan00]. The research also indicates In addition to performance traditions, tabletop that this form of gameplay is generally a complemen- RPGs also stem from a long history of various game tary rather than conflicting pursuit to electronic gam- forms that incorporate aspects of character role-play, ing, and many players engage in both. including certain table or board games, parlor games As new computer interaction methods such as tan- and children’s improvised “make believe” games. gible and mobile interfaces begin to make their way While not necessarily geared towards storytelling, into the gaming and entertainment realm, the benefits many board games are based on a simple narrative of these separate worlds can be combined. In particu- structure, such as a battle between opposing camps. lar, digitally-augmented tabletops provide an ideal set- More realistic versions of tabletop wargames and mil- ting for new kinds of game experiences. Digital games itary simulations have also been used as a form of on tabletop combine a traditional form of face-to-face military training and planning, and require the play- around-the-table gaming, with the enhanced forms of ers to put themselves in the mindset or role of the gameplay supported by digital technologies, for exam- characters on the battle-field. A common feature of ple using computationally-driven rule-engines and a these wargames is the use of miniature figurines and rich space of dynamically changing digital game con- tabletop terrain maps to illustrate the action. On the tent. Building on the emerging area of digital media lighter side, children have been role-playing for cen- tables for game play, TTRPG (TViews Table Role- turies, making use of dolls, miniature figurines and Playing Game) is a digital tabletop role-playing game other toys as characters and props in imaginary worlds. (RPG) that runs on the TViews table, a digital/tangible In the 1960s, wargames were combined with elements media table that uses an integrated display and com- of fantasy fiction to form the first (traditional) tabletop puter to mediate multi-player interactions with the RPGs as they are known today [Ril94]. The first com- game through physical playing pieces (see Figure 1). mercially available tabletop RPG, Dungeons & Drag- TTRPG demonstrates how a fully realized tabletop ons, was created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson digital RPG can engage players in face-to-face social and published in 1974 by TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) gameplay by making use of a combination of digital Inc. and tangible game elements, and a human gamemas- Traditional RPGs are conducted as small social urn:nbn:de:0009-6-14913, ISSN 1860-2037 Journal of Virtual Reality and Broadcasting, Volume 5(2008), no. 8 gatherings, where players typically sit around a table cess or failure of the character’s actions depends on and play the game through voice interaction, slipping the combination of the outcome of the dice roll and in and out of their character roles as they alternate be- the character’s attributes and skills. tween character dialogue, descriptions of character ac- While face-to-face social interaction and tangible tions, and discussion of game mechanics. Game play game elements have been lost in MMORPGs, some often involves tangible props, such as dice, figurines, of the complexities and tedious aspects involved in the maps, and sheets of paper for describing players’ char- traditional form of game-play (e.g. keeping track of acters (see Figure 2). The game is played according to character statistics, evaluating moves, etc.) are off- a game system - a set of game mechanics or rules that loaded to the computational game engine. Hybrid are extensively described in the manuals for the game. physical/digital RPGs that are played on digital me- For example, the d20 system which is based on the dia tables can combine the benefits of both worlds. In original Dungeons & Dragons game is used in many the following section, we look at the related work in modern games. Frequently, the game system used is the area of digital tabletop technologies and games. tied to a particular genre of game, such as combat- focused fantasy games. 3 Related Work As the technologies for supporting multi-player interactions on shared tabletop displays have progressed over recent years, there have been an increasing num- ber of research projects exploring the space of digital tabletop games. This section provides a brief overview of different technical approaches for digital tabletop interactions, as well as some notable work on digital tabletop games. Figure 2: The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Game set from Wizards of the Coast, including props such as 3.1 Digital Tabletop Technologies maps, handbooks and miniature figurines Digital tabletops provide multi-user interaction around a shared horizontal display.

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