The Apple iPad debuted yesterday to mixed reactions. While many championed its HD-ready touch screen, feather-weight sleek design, and decidedly reasonable price, much criticism was made claiming that the device is more of an iPhone than a Mac. Regardless of what my overall opinion of the device is, I had to ask the important question: What can the iPad do for D&D players?
Some fantastic D&D iPhone apps already exist, and have been written about extensively on the web (check out this blog post at DorkandBeans.com for a few great suggestions). However, most of these apps are designed for use by individuals at a gaming table, and rightfully so; character managing apps can only display one player’s character at a time, and it would be annoying to pass around something as small as an iPhone so everyone could roll their dice on it. But I think that with the iPad, we will begin to see apps designed around communal use.
With almost 10 inches of touch screen, so many different possibilities open up. An app could be developed to use it as a miniatures surface, displaying pre-rendered dungeon tiles for smaller rooms. DM’s would no longer have to print large poster-sized dungeon rooms, or waste time drawing details onto a dry-erase grid. A prototype of a program like this was shown in the Microsoft Surface D&D video, but that setup and technology looked super expensive to replicate. The iPad could make this technology accessible, practical, and somewhat economical.
An app could also be developed to manage the party’s collective inventory, so that items could be removed or added in real time, in front of everyone, instead of forcing one player to keep a micromanaged running tally of what’s in the Bag of Holding. This would make it a lot easier to keep track of exactly how many potions of healing are left.
There really is a huge realm of possibility surrounding the tabletop gaming uses of the new Apple iPad. Do you think we will ever see apps like this developed for the device? What other ways do you think the iPad could alter the way a group plays D&D?
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Social media has mixed with just about every possible hobby and business to some extent over the last few years. There are Facebook groups for every possible niche interest, Twitter tags for any subject area, and blogs about everything under the sun (and some things beyond it). Since Dungeons and Dragons players tend to be a rather tech-savvy lot, much information related to the game has been digitized and shared socially online.
The most significant result of the crossing of D&D and social media has been the unlimited potential for player-generated content.
Aspiring game designers can collaborate on detailed, professional-quality campaign settings the way that software developers collaborated on Firefox. Players can tweet links to interesting Paragon Paths and magic items they run across. Startup publishing companies can hook up with independent adventure authors to produce downloadable modules and source books that rival first-party content at a fraction of the price. DM’s can podcast their game sessions, or even broadcast live video feeds via USTREAM in order to share their experiences playtesting new rules and game mechanics. There is literally no ceiling for the amount of player-generated supplemental content.
What does this mean for the future of D&D? We will begin to see the D&D community really take charge of organizing all this information. For example, I think we will see a few bookmarking sites similar to Reddit and Digg pop up that focus solely on tabletop RPG content and related articles. I also believe we will see more social networking sites like Pen and Paper Games, which allows gamers to locate others in their area who share similar gaming styles and schedules.
D&D has always been a game that encourages individual ownership. Players and DM’s have always made their own house rules, created their own character classes, and developed their own playing styles. I think the digital organization and sharing of these ideas is going to drive a revolutionary surge of interest in D&D specifically, and tabletop games in general.
What do you think is the biggest contribution social media has made to D&D? Do you believe social media tools are actually having a negative impact on the game? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Tags: content, D&D, DM, Dnd, Dragons, Dungeon Master, Dungeons, Dungeons and Dragons, game, Master, Paper, Pen, Player, Publisher
