Role Playing Games (RPGs) are games where you take on the role of a fictional character; A legendary adventurer, a fabled prince or perhaps a ruthless assassin. These games arose out of a necessity, the need to escape a grim or boring reality. Let's face it, you do the same thing every day whether it is going to school or working. RPGs let you escape into a world of fantasy and engage in something more interesting.
We will explore, compare and contrast two types of RPGs. The first type is the Tabletop RPG, where a group sits around a table in a social setting and plays the game together. The second type is the MMORPG, which stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, which is like a Computer game except you play it in a common world shared with thousands of other players.
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs, often referred to as Pen and Paper RPGs, are games in which a group of players sit around a table and play the game together. The most famous of these games is the Dungeons & Dragons game, but there are many others. In a tabletop RPG there is usually a host (called the Game Master, or Dungeon Master) that tells the story and directs the game. The rest of the players are characters in the story. The game generally starts by creating characters. All characters will belong to a race of some type (such as Humans, Elves, Dwarves) , have a profession (such as warrior, thief, priest, mage) and have some sort of statistics (such as intelligence, wisdom, strength, dexterity). These attributes determine how they will cope with different situation.
After creating the characters, the players form a party and enter the fictional world, Actions are taken by verbally describing what the player does ("I sneak up on the goblin from behind and stab it in the back with my dagger!" "I cast a healing spell to heal the dying dwarf!") and results are determined by a roll of dice (such as the D20, a twenty sided die)
MMORPGs
In Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) you also play the role of a fictional character, but you do it online. It is like playing any other video game, except you do it in a common world shared by many different players (The Server). In a MMORPG you also start by creating a character, choosing its race, attributes, profession and looks. You then join others in the server and perform engage in quests, either on your own or by creating a party with other players. An example of a popular MMORPG is World of Warcraft, by Blizzard Entertainment.
Advantages of Tabletop RPGs (compared to MMORPGs)
The main advantage Tabletop RPGs have over MMORPGs is that they are a lot more social. You are actually hanging out with your friends, eating, laughing, playing and sharing stories. It is a social event, just like going to the movies together, having a party, or just your regular hangout.
Another advantage of Tabletop RPGs is that it sharpens your social skills. By engaging in these interactions with all the other players, you gain more self confidence. Your ability to roleplay and put yourself in another's shoes helps you cope with many different real life situations (as long as you don't pretend to be an elf)
One last advantage Tabletop RPGs is that all you need is basically a pen, paper and some dice, nothing else.
Disadvantages of Tabletop RPGs
A big disadvantage is that you actually have to get a group of people together in order to play this. I have played many tabletop RPGs in my life, and that is the hardest part. Everyone has their own schedule. It's hard to get 2 people together, let alone a full group.
Another disadvantage I personally experienced is that there is bound to be some sort of conflict between 2 of the players that will always interfere with gameplay. For example one player cannot stand one of the other players. When getting a big group (5-8) of people together, more often than not there will be some sort of conflict.
Advantages of MMORPGs
Most advantages of MMORPGs are the disadvantages of Tabletops, and vice versa.
The main advantage of MMORPGs is that you don't have to get a group of people together to play it. All you need is your keyboard and mouse. You log into the online world and chances are you will already find hundreds of people logged in just as you are. You don't have to leave your house. You don't even have to leave your room.
Another advantage is that you can choose whether to play on your own (Solo) or to join other players. And when you join other players, you decide who to join. If you don't like 'em, you can just leave.
Disadvantage of MMORPGs
The main disadvantage of MMORPGs compared to Tabletops, is that it is all online. The closest you'll get to actually seeing your friends is to seeing their online characters (Avatars).
Another disadvantage is that you can easily get addicted to an MMORPG. I have several friends who ventured bravely into the world of an MMORPG, never to be heard from or seen of again.
One last disadvantage is that the MMORPGs usually require a monthly subscription fee to play.
Author's Take
Both Tabletop RPGs and MMORPGs give you a chance to play a fictional character, but each in its own ways. I personally prefer Tabletop RPGs as they give me more chance to hang out with friends and exercise my imagination. However, due to the difficulty in getting a group together nowadays, I usually turn to MMORPGs in the end.
