Role playing and Technology (A Masters Project)

[DoBotsDream]

Greetings fellow Gamers!

My name is Anders, and I am currently writing a project regarding the implementation of Technology and Digital media into the Role playing experience. That is all fancy talk for me studying how a role playing session changes when you throw some technology into the mix, but to get the data and results I require to validate some of my theories I need your help.

I have made a short 6 minute survey that will ask a few multiple choice questions, that will help me out greatly. I won't say too much about what these I am hoping to get, as I don't want to color your opinions before you even take it, but I just need you to be as honest as possible.

My thanks in advance to you, you have helped me more than you will ever know =D

Survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S8RJNQ8

[neonchameleon]

You're asking odd questions. Why and how are you using a laptop in the game? Because most of the time I've seen one used it's been to consult the 4e Compendium or the d20PFSRD where it's simpler, easier, and faster than dead trees. Running off a laptop is a second condition. And playing through Skype/Roll20/Whatever (or playing Viewscream) is a third.

[Rhynn]

The "how long" categories are odd - of course they're arbitrary, but you're lumping 16-40 (D&D turns 40 - or 41, depending on your cut-off - this year) into one category.

Agreed that #6 has weird answer options. I had to use other to put in:
"A computer is invaluable for condensing data (it's easier to manage 10 PDFs open in Foxit Reader than 10 books on a table), invaluable for notes (I have 7400 files in my RPGs folder, and that one doesn't contain book PDFs), some programs are invaluable (e.g. Hexographer and Dungeonographer for creating maps), basic text editing tools are invaluable all by themselves, you can play music on it for scenes, show players pictures to help them visualize something, look up information, use online System Reference Documents, you can create and manage spreadsheets / tables, several of my players only use digital character records, etc."
None of that was covered in any way by your checkbox options, really.

Why "laptops," for that matter? I was using a computer during RPG sessions ever since I had a 486 PC.

[ElenionAncalima]

Filled it out.

Just a suggestion, but it might be easier if you separated out the questions regarding players having laptops and the referee having a laptop...as that the benefits and drawbacks can be different for each.

Some other questions to ask is about certain aspects of gaming that can be electronic or manual, such as:
Character sheets
Notes
Dice rolling
Campaign Info Management
Rules checks
Map Building
Initiative tracking
ect.

[Spacebatsy]

In the opinion of this GM the laptop was created for the purpose of ambience music and sound effects to freak out players.

You might want to have a section of asking how technology can be used to enhance the gaming experience as ElenionAncalima gives examples to in the section above.

[Terraoblivion]

You should probably specify that you're only interested in traditional tabletop gaming and not gaming based around digital methods of communication. Most of these questions can't be meaningfully answered for play-by-post or chatroom based games because they all presume physical proximity between the players.

[Rhynn]

In the opinion of this GM the laptop was created for the purpose of ambience music and sound effects to freak out players.

I've got a great air raid siren MP3 on this baby, I can't wait to use it.

[Spacebatsy]

I've got a great air raid siren MP3 on this baby, I can't wait to use it.

I have a pretty little thing called “creature eating flesh” it’s a must have for horror games

[DoBotsDream]

First off, I would like to thank everyone of you that has answered and this feedback given here. Many thanks and much love.

Yes I should defiantly have been a bit clearer in many things, I am realizing this now. This is still very use able information and I will still use it because it is brilliant. This will be the first in a line of several surveys I intend to make (the site I used for this one also had a question max, so I was forced to cut down and yeah, nuance was lost :/).

The questions on enhancement will be coming, and one of you has already figured out what my project is about, though I will continue to hold my cards pretty close to my chest, as to not influence you guys in anyway at all, something that could be devastating for the purity of the results. If there is interest I will post my Thesis here, just say the word :)

I will also continue to post surveys on this thread, so check back in a couple weeks maybe three =)

PS
The age question was mentioned to me by my supervisor, it is most a due diligence thing rather than anything useful, as is gender. But them quantitative studies call for it, just the name of the game sadly.

Again Thank You All!

[Eldan]

Some of those questions are difficult, because I've never been at a table where people used any devices. It was just never an issue. I don't have a smart phone, back when I still regularly gamed at tables, neither did my friends and no one ever brought a laptop. Occasionally print-outs, but never laptops.

We didn't even really use books. Books were there to look up things before games and occasionally for the DM to have a monster stat block open, but digging in them during the game was very frowned upon.

So, a lot of those questions were answered by guessing. "I guess they would create a barrier and make people play less attention" instead of "I think [ditto]".

[DoBotsDream]

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/rpgtechv2

It took awhile, but the last survey is now ready! This one is a bit longer but should take no more than 15 minutes at the most. The response to the last survey was phenomenal! Thank you everyone that participated.

[Airk]

Sooo... if I've never used a tablet as a referee, and told you so, why do you insist on sending me to the "How did you like using a tablet as a referee" question page?

Edit: Actually, there's a lot of weird stuff in this survey; Trying to rate a bunch of stuff as "preferred" or "not preferred" doesn't really make sense to me here - certain things are preferred for certain functions; I REALLY LIKE having PDFs for reference on my PC, and digital databases can be super awesome when looking up options for character building, but I wouldn't want to try to run a game with only PDFs for reference, and many games don't benefit from a database at all. Do I "prefer" any of these things? It just doesn't have any meaning.

[Khedrac]

I have answered the questions about laptop use, which in my experience falls into two categories:
1) Looking up reference books on pdf rather than lugging a ton of paper around (usually useful and only occasionally slowing).*
2) electronic character sheets - the main person I know who does that can get rather distracted trying to find the option on the spreadsheet for a temporary effect (i.e. a buff) which does slow play down.

On the tablet front, I don;t the the above would be altered by this, but I do know a player who does use a tablet at the table, and it is for something totally different:
3) rolling large quantities of dice. Most of the time he uses physical dice, but for things like 15d12 the app is much faster and easier for all of us.


* I once forgot the adventure I was supposed to be running so someone snagged a dodgy copy of a pdf and I used that for the session - and kept th pdf as a backup for my physical copy.

[caden_varn]

The benefit of tablets for me - relatively small form factor but easy to read, can load up tabs with rules lookups I want a lot (spells, feats etc.). Laptop is too large, smartphone is OK but generally too small.

But then I am just using it as a rules lookup.

[DoBotsDream]

UGH sorry about the issues with the survey, there are some issues with the logic that should be sending you to the appropriate pages. Sorry everyone :/