Technology and Tabletop
If you read my previous article, you may be aware that I spend more time playing games than I should. But spending time with my friends every week playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is the obvious highlight. I’ve grown closer with these friends; every week we take turns hosting, cooking dinner for everyone, bringing dessert, or sometimes we just go and get sushi before playing.
In my opinion, no video game can replace that kind of social interaction.
If you’re familiar with D&D, then you’ll be aware that its popularity has increased with the fifth edition of the game. Even if you haven’t played the tabletop roleplaying game (RPG), it has been getting more attention from popular culture franchises like Stranger Things.
There’s even a Stranger Things themed D&D Starter Kit now.
Sometimes I feel like technology is attacking the real tabletop experience. For example, Words with Friends is the new age Scrabble, but both games have websites dedicated to cheating, which defeats the purpose of playing these games anyway. To me, nothing will top the Scrabble experience of having my mum getting really frustrated at me trying to use names, acronyms, or something else that “isn’t allowed” just because I think it’s funny to tease her.
So, when there’s technology available like Roll 20 or Tabletop Simulator that would allow my friends and I to play D&D with many other benefits, such as:
- Not having to be in the same room, city, country, whatever
- Being able to flip the table over with fewer consequences
My response will usually be along the lines of: I prefer to shout at my friends in person. Not to mention it would make all our beloved homemade figures redundant.
The media tends to speculate over the negative effects of RPGs like D&D. A 1990 research article found that committed D&D players expressed greater feelings of alienation. There’s always the classic “escapism” and “outcast” stereotypes too.
But, a journal article from 2007 outlines the psychological effects of RPGs:
Individuals can explore deeper aspects of their own psyches through ego alteration, build scenarios for potential future crises through problem-solving, and establish a sense of communal cohesion through the liminal space of the game-world. Exposure to roleplaying games at any age can encourage collaborative creativity and enhance the experience of “real life” in its many facets
In lay terms, people can explore different aspects of themselves, their coping mechanisms, and crisis handling skills within the simulated reality of the game. Exposure to these games can encourage teamwork, creativity, and make it easier to fully engage with the real world.
Whether it is online or over the table, the game is still fundamentally the same. Especially the role playing aspects. Technological versions allow for more variability at the expense of quality social interactions.
Outside of classic RPGs there are still many popular tabletop games. Cards Against Humanity was a success and now the creators have released a new game: Secret Hitler. All games from The Oatmeal are uniquely irreplaceable and incomparable.
These games just can’t be replaced by an online version. There is no technological replacement for sitting around accusing friends of being a “filthy fascist” or throwing stuffed burritos at each other.
It’s tempting to say that tabletop games are dying in this technological age, but they aren’t.
Technology is replacing certain aspects of tabletop games, but it will never be able to replicate the experience of looking in the eyes of your trusting friends when they elect you as Chancellor, but you’ve been Hitler the whole time.
I could talk all day about how technology is changing the way I experience tabletop games:
- Using an app instead of a traditional printed character sheet to save paper and makes it more customisable, or to keep track of spell lists in D&D
- Using an excel document to replace the Cluedo sheets that finally ran out after owning the board game for years, or to score the copious amounts of UNO games my family plays to try and determine the true champion
- Using the 3D printer to create homemade minifigures
We also have technology and media to thank for gaining access to these new games. I wouldn’t have learned about many of these games if they hadn’t been shared on social media. Maybe through reading this article your interest has been peaked and you’ll look into buying Secret Hitler to play with your friends.
(I highly recommend it)
What I see from all of this is that the tabletop gaming industry isn’t dying because it’s being replaced by virtual aspects. More often, media and these technologies are supporting the tabletop games industry.
I, for one, am very excited to see what else these creators come up with next to keep the industry interesting.
So, get off the internet and go play a game with your friends, you nerd. I don’t think throwing a virtual burrito has the same effect.
