Playing for Rolls or Playing the Role

An editorial on Midlife Gamer compares CRPGs versus tabletop RPGs, with the author conceding to the fact that the electronic format cannot currently provide as deep of a role-playing experience as tabletop gaming can.

It would be rude not to include Bioware in this bit of gaming commentary, specially the Mass Effect series. Unlike their Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights games, Mass Effect does focus more on the character development. But other than a very open galaxy to explore and NPC’s to interact with, the character forged through the game still tackles the quests in the same manor.

I’m by no means unhappy with the wide array of RPG’s available at the moment. From the story telling heights of Final Fantasy to the downright evil but super rewarding Demon’s Souls and with MMO’s pushing the boundaries of time investment. Perhaps the closest I’m going to get to my dream of total role playing isn’t going to happen within this media and is an experience that can only be gained by investing in those hypnotic dice.