For over a year now I have been utterly fascinated by collaborative storytelling - also known as the phenomenon of tabletop roleplaying games.
Ever since witnessing how much fun it can be to sit around a table with friends and conjure up the most amazing tales right on the spot - I am never looking back to my video gtamer days. Seriously! Screw video games - this here is real entertainment!
Stories in video games have been so dull that I eventually lost interest completely, like reading a boring book before putting it down. It's as if the industry is purposefully dismantling itself with ever poorer quality content that sparkles ever and ever more. The packaging is ramped up, while the content has long reached abysmal levels. And I always felt constricted in video games. "Not convinced" also.
Playing a game is only fun when it is immersive, when you don't run into invisible walls constantly. When you can think of something to do and then go try it out. And to see what actual effects your choices have.
Well I feel somewhat ashamed that - despite or maybe due to being a video gamer since my first Gameboy - I had completely ignored the phenomenon of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGS) until about a year ago. Better late than never.
Ever since seeing my first mini-session with the now famous Matt Mercer (linked below), I finally understood why that hobby has such a dedicated fanbase and I was hooked.
Collaborative storytelling is alive and fun - open to anyone who enjoys a good story, regardless of age or worldly dispositions.
A new obsession
The results of TTRPGing are utterly unpredictable because the story is written live on the table!
The Dungeon Master (DM) may have ideas about what world he wants to create for the players, what challenges to throw their way and what tense situations are likely to occur. But the players also decide every step of the way: they make their respective character do and say things, shaping the world in collaboration with the other players and all the non-player-characters the DM portrays. It quickly becomes this vortex of interesting storylines and ideas, and eventually turns into adamant curiosity exploring this almost palpable world that exists only in the mind; becoming more and more real the more it is explored and interacted with.
It's just so funny to realize that we - even as mere viewers of such a gaming session - are still just watching people talk to one another. That's it!
But anybody who has been read a good story in their childhood will know the power of a good story! And anyone who loves a good audiobook knows that a good story and a voice is all that is needed.
And if it unfolds organically - rather than predetermined and all planned out as in books, movies, tv or video games - we as viewers feel the difference. It is genuine. It is real. It's a human pastime, and an ancient one at that. It just got a few nice new spins that introduce randomness (die rolls) and a certain set of rules to make the intangible mind world more reliable.
If you always wondered what this nerdy pastime is about and what it would look like in practice but you weren't quite sure where to start: this video is one rare occasion where the mainstream delivered amazingly, featuring an exciting one-on-one short adventure that gathered enormous attention. It's a cute little story throwing you right into the thick of the TTRPG experience with Dungeons & Dragons.
The play portion starts at 10:30
I feel I will speak much more of this especially as I gather more play experience myself. It's only been a few times thus far as collaborative storytelling does require other people... but those have been immense fun already!
So, have you ever dabbled in tabletop roleplaying with your friends and family? And if so, how was your experience?