Digital vs Non-Digital Games
Journal wk2 – digital vs non-digital games
There are definite differences between tabletop gaming, computer gaming, and sports. The difference is in the pace and demands on the body of each type. Table-top games do not require physical fitness and cannot be realtime. They are generally turn based and require the players to have a certain level of imagination. They also have fantasy story lines and complex mechanics.
Sports on the other hand generally has no story lines or fantasy and usually has a fairly simple mechanic. Sports also requires physical fitness and exertion. Therefore sports also must be played in realtime and cannot be turn based, otherwise its just boring.
Computer games are unique in the sense that they can be turn based like table top gaming and/or realtime like sports. Computer games could require physical fitness (wii) and dexterity. They can have fantasy, they can be without fantasy, they can be turn based and slow and they can be realtime and fast.
Computer games have the ability to visually represent fantasy whereas tabletop games require imagination and only have a partial physical representation. Sports doesn’t have fantasy although I guess paintball does but that also requires some imagination since paintball guns shoot paintballs, not bullets and noone dies. With a computer game the designer has complete creative control with the visual aspect. Sports and live action games have to work within the limits of human capability. For example you cannot have a game where people are required to scale skyscrapers. Tabletop games can’t really have a strong physical element though they can have a fantasy element. I really don’t like table top games so I cannot comment on them very much. The only appealing thing about table top games would be that you play with other people and interact with people. However in terms of gameplay, anything tabletop games can do, computers can do equally well or better.
The same game would be very different changing from one medium to another. For example if you take dungeons and dragons and try to convert it into a live action sport it would be horrible. The only way I can think of is having everybody cosplaying as the characters and playing…somehow. However when converting to a computer game it works, as seen in Neverwinter Nights which is an adaptation of D&D rules.
