D&D > Video Games for ERE

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Viktor K
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D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by Viktor K »

Hello,

D&D in this instance collectively refers to tabletop RPGs D&D being one of which that has gained some "mainstream" (if you can even say that) resurgence of late. This resurgence especially amplified by COVID, lockdowns, and with ZOOM + VTT (virtual tabletops), the hobby is easily moved online.

Video games could refer to online games, MMORPGs for example, or even just FPSs with friends online. More for this, I'm referring to solo games, which is what I tend to gravitate towards. Or online games that I play with all others muted, mostly for challenge of playing with others.

Engaging in both hobbies, I find video games much less valuable.

Video game pros: submission/calming, can have goals, play online

Whereas tabletop RPGs seem to have a lasting social capital aspect.

7Wannabe5
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

My DD29 plays virtual D&D. Also a pub trivia pro. Sorry guys, already taken.

Dream of Freedom
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

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Last edited by Dream of Freedom on Wed Feb 03, 2021 11:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

daylen
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by daylen »

I learned operations research from playing Runescape.

BookLoverL
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by BookLoverL »

I theoretically enjoy D&D, but every time I try to get a game going, it seems like people will play for the first few sessions, and then due to trying to accommodate people with too many different schedules, the game fizzles out. This has especially been the case with either friends who work odd times, or with international friends in different time zones (e.g. the time I tried to schedule a game including myself in the UK, a couple of people in Poland, and a friend from Australia was interesting). But if you can get yourself a regular group that actually regularly meets it can be very beneficial.

The main video game I play is a MMORPG, which I mostly play solo at the moment. I used to be in a roleplaying guild on there which was pretty good for community building, and the rp was less rigid than the D&D system. But I had to stop because I was having more offline things scheduled on the evenings they played on so I couldn't make the events consistently any more.

Quadalupe
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by Quadalupe »

A friend of mine ran a game where you could drop in from session to session. It was a dungeon crawler where you could explore for 2h and then had to go back to the surface because of dangerous mist. It was loads of fun and I think around 15 people played at least one game (and a group of 4 - 7 people was participating weekly).

Maybe a game like that might work for you, BookLoverL?

BookLoverL
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by BookLoverL »

Yeah, that sort of thing might be fun. The problem is also, of course, getting a consistent DM to run the thing, unless people agree to take turns. Personally my live storytelling skills aren't quite good enough for me to volunteer as DM myself, though.

When it comes to ERE, the video game option can be pretty cheap. Obviously something like WoW where you're paying a regular subscription fee would be less good, but the game I have has no subscription, so you only have to buy it once (and then buy the occasional expansion once, if you're playing in a way that uses the expansions). You can buy extras in their in game shop but you don't need to at all, everything they sell is cosmetic pretty much. So if you're running a computer anyway, then once you have it it doesn't really cost any extra.

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Viktor K
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by Viktor K »

This is interesting to look back on. I made ~$150 last month charging per player for a 1/week game. I charge on the low side as well. I think the market is pretty good right now for this sort of side income, since a lot of people are home. As well, as you all mention, there's many more players than there are DMs, and finding a consistent game can be tough. Thankfully, I enjoy DMing more than playing, on most nights at least.

I currently play 2 games/week, both are free. One is with a pro-DM, but this game is free for us because of some long story. This paid DM is the one that originally inspired me to try out paid DMing.

The other game I found for free online.

I currently run 3 games/week. Two are free. One is my usual game that I run for friends and family. The second is a test, 2-3 month adventure I created and invited random people online. This was a test to see if I enjoyed it. After that test was going pretty well, I took the plunge and sought players for $$/session. That succeeded as well, and I just added another player for 6 people.

I may add a second paid game soon. I would invite you all to try and find online D&D groups, there's a lot of posts for people looking for games, as well as DMs looking for players. I did try one game for free that I ended up dropping. It was not my style D&D, though they all seemed to be having fun. After 1 month, I told the DM thanks for letting me join and that was that. Also, it was 2/week for 2 hours, so it was a big commitment.

The average rate for a DM seems to be $5-25 USD/game for paid games. So if you have 5-6 players, that's $25-150 USD each week. Sessions generally last 2-6 hours. But as DM, I find I put more time in prep than just game time. So you have to be very efficient in prep and/or charging on the higher end for more players and less time to really be making competitive hourly rate.

Quadalupe
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by Quadalupe »

How are the expectations of the paying players? Do you notice they expect higher quality games or something than the free players?

By the way, I would love a dnd podcast episode with jacob as the web-of-goals minmaxing wizard :lol:

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Viktor K
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by Viktor K »

I’m not 100% sure yet. The paid group was much more talkative on session 0, to the point that it was hard to get them off the call. They seemed more eager, and had a better idea of what they like and don’t like in a game.

We’re only on our 3rd session (4th if you count session 0), so maybe I haven’t seen enough yet. They seem more eager and outgoing, but otherwise the differences don’t seem unique to pay vs free as they do the normal group differences.

Paid group:
Strong fellowship drive (from session 0)
Strong fantasy drive (in character almost 100% of the time)

Friend group:
Strong narrative drive
Weak expression drive (very little IC chat)
Strong submission drive (very little patience for role playing, difficult NPCs, poor tactical choices)

Free group of strangers:
Strong expression drive - everyone talking in voices
Strong fantasy drive - very interested in maps, NPCs

I think the biggest difference as GM that I’ve seen comes from the players that I introduced to and invited to the game (friend group), vs the internet recruited groups.

dan15T
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by dan15T »

Video games could refer to online games, MMORPGs for example, or even just FPSs with friends online. More for this, I'm referring to solo games, which is what I tend to gravitate towards. Or online games that I play with all others muted, mostly for challenge of playing with others.
Engaging in both hobbies, I find video games much less valuable.
Video game pros: submission/calming, can have goals, play online
Whereas tabletop RPGs seem to have a lasting social capital aspect.
I got your point. But you have to understand that players and developers pursue different goals. Players simply want to get some relaxation and maybe infusion and inspiration, but developers always care about the money side of their game business. And of course, a lot of game developers still care about users and simple players. That's what I can say about iLogos dev agency, as well. Just take a look at this ( link: https://www.ilogos.biz/ ) web site, to understand how many cool and well-developed game project they have provided. It seems like I've played in the lion's share from all of them.
Last edited by dan15T on Tue May 11, 2021 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Jean
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Re: D&D > Video Games for ERE

Post by Jean »

I enjoy dming and my players usually enjoyed it. I didn't Know it was possible to be paid for dming.

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