Roleplaying across the internet
The word 'roleplaying' evokes images of sweaty kids sitting around a table, or of impossibly stylish Japanese boys on a quest to save the world. But the simple act of roleplaying - of people telling a story together - doesn't require colourful manuals or high-resolution graphics. It doesn't even require rules, nor the ceremonial presence of a Dungeon Master guiding the narration: it only takes two people willing to play pretend.
The advent of the internet brought new possibilities to roleplay aficionados. People now roleplay on forums, mails, Tumblr, Facebook pages, Whatsapp, IRC chats, Skype and Discord, building small communities ripe with drama and wonders. Their stories are rarely chronicled: the world they inhabit is a strange limbo between tabletop gaming, collaborative writing and video games, often forced to share space with the encumbering presence of fandom culture.
Online roleplaying games all share a few common rules. First you create your own character, usually compiling a character sheet to define their story and skills. You are then free to wander the world, playing with other people or joining a quest where a Dungeon Master puts the players against enemies and enigmas. Some games are entirely guided by one or more DMs; others put more emphasis on players interaction. Their differences are often defined by the software the game is being played on: the peculiarities of the medium of choice become a part of the game's design, twisting traditional roleplaying in new and exciting forms.
from Eurogamer.net https://ift.tt/2n8ecsN
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