There's software to help with such environments. The software lays out the dungeon area, and allows a DM to manipulate the characters on the board, as well as their stats, and so on. But there's certainly a charm to playing in person that cannot be met remotely.
What it needs is 3-D virtual reality (and not needing to put a silly helmet on). If you can feel like you're actually sitting at a table with the other players, it would be almost like the real thing. (Except you can't pass around the munchies. There was this place in Reading, PA that had awesome spicy fried potato wedges that we always had on hand during gaming night.)
I've never tried going to one of those gaming venues scattered about. I think there's one in Frederick, MD. You know the kind of place... they almost always also sell comics.
Maybe I should consider that. I really enjoy playing RPGs, and a pen-n-paper campaign would be a welcome change from the video games.
and they set foot firmly on the path of evil.
Hm.
I think I learned vi on a VAX machine, and an Amiga 500.
Vim really does port well to all kinds of platforms.
Mon Sep 01 2014 11:46:42 EDT from zooerI used VAX/VMS but I don't remember the editor.
do you still remember howto change directories? ;-)
This is true, concerning Amiga.
I think the OS is now targetted towards embedded devices, but it has lost much of its charm with the advances made since then.
Due to the fact that the Illusion kept me busy and entangled me with work, I came late to the party myself: Kult, the pen and paper RPG, got a new iteration:
http://kultdivinitylost.com (Partially NSFW and in some cases not safe for your mind.)
There was also a kickstarter, which I totally missed. But everything is looking very interesting.
The tariffs have raised prices, and prices were already going up. A decade back Fantasy Flight proved that people would by a $60+ game, if the components were worth it. Since then we have seen some games shoot up to $100 or more. There are a number of reasons for this, better components usually play a big part.
I did the kickstarter for The Fantasy Trip, and backed it at the "I Want it All" level, which ended up being $120, but the box it came in is huge. Like 26 lbs huge.
Also, lots of people getting into crowdfunding without knowing what they are backing. Have you heard of the drama regarding that Barrage game from Cranio?
What I find concerning is that there is a lot of effort poured to components but I feel I am running out of options regarding the cheap games. Carcassone used to be way cheaper than it is.
I am glad I still have the old glories on my shelves to play.