Pen-and-paper role-playing is live theater and computer games are television. People want the convenience and instant gratification of turning on the TV rather than getting dressed up and going out to see a live play. In the same way, the computer is a more immediately accessible way to play games.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Gygax compares pen-and-paper gaming to live theater and computer games to TV, noting the latter's convenience.
- In plain terms
- Tabletop games are like live theater, while video games are like TV because they are more convenient.
- What can you take from it?
- Choose games based on desired immersion versus convenience.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes an experience worthwhile to you?
- Do you value convenience or depth more?
Another view
Video games can offer deep, cooperative experiences too.
More from Gary Gygax
I would like the world to remember me as the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else.
Permalink to quote #9 The essence of a role-playing game is that it is a group, cooperative experience. There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of i…
Permalink to quote #11 The books I write because I want to read them, the games because I want to play them, and stories I tell because I find them exciting personally.
Permalink to quote #8
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