Technology in Gaming
When I was a teenager, my gaming crowd always wanted to play games at a particular friends house more than any other. Did he have a dedicated game room? Lax parental oversight? Unlocked liquor cabinet? Attractive sisters? No. His dad had a photo copier in the basement. It seems silly now in this day of fingertip technology but back then that was a BIG deal. Even if you had a home computer (which not many people did at the time) only a few people had printers and there were no all-in-one machines. To make copies you had to go to the library and pay for them. With a home machine you could make copies of maps, character sheets, attack matrixes, anything you wanted right at the table.
Al Gore had barely invented the internet and the general public was largely unaware of it. If you somehow had a modem, and knew how to use it, you had to actually pick up the telephone receiver and put it on the modem to dial up...something...
Today we have so much at our fingertips, including virtual gaming tables where you can connect with players anywhere in the world in a few keystrokes. How do you use technology in your gaming today?
For me personally, 98% of my gaming is online. I have been lucky enough to find a solid group of 30+ people that are awesome to game with. Google Plus has been key to that, and if you aren't on it, you are missing out on an unbelievable OSR/DIY gaming scene. The only limits to my gaming now are put in place by me (ok, my wife...).
Ahhhh... the phone cradle modem. Sounded like a crazy sort of electronic symphony. And then there was that wonderment when it went silent and the screen said "Connected." I too remember "borrowing" copiers and such for "important projects." Those were the days.
ReplyDeleteI am the reason my high school made a rule that no students could use the copy machines anymore. This was after I made like 50 copies of each official D&D class character sheet plus many other things like FASA Star Trek character sheets. I just remember being in the school on a Saturday and making copies for hours. I am sure I still have some of those copies in a folder somewhere. Cause you know, I did not want to actually use and write on those beautiful goldenrod character sheets.
ReplyDeleteTech for prep, but zero tech at the table. I don't mix TTRPG and computers. Two entirely different hobbies for me.
ReplyDelete