Book review of Creating an Online Roleplaying Game

Courtesy Lulu

I previously interviewed Alexander Hinkley previously about his Dragonball Z Role-Playing Game (DBZ RPG). Alex is a veteran of the browser-based game (BBG) medium, having run BBGs for over a decade. So if anyone is in a position to write a book about BBGs, it's Alex.

Alex's book, Creating an Online Roleplaying Game, begins with an overview of the various types of role-playing games, including Live Action Role-Playing games (LARPs), Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs), tabletop role-playing games, Computer Role-Playing Games (CRPGs), and Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). He then explains play-by-post RPGs and its various forms, including email, chat, and forum. This is where we get to the meat of the book – this sort of role-playing form hasn't received enough attention and Alex aims to address that.

With that introduction out of the way, Alex moves on to creating a play-by-post site. After deciding on the role-playing game format and the genre, the book covers creating a web site. This is not a technical manual but useful advice on avoiding the pitfalls in starting the foundation of a BBG, including creating, advertising, and marketing the site.

The next chapter covers creating the mechanics of the RPG. He breaks down the RPG into five basic elements: statistics, player-vs.-player, items, character profiles, and locations. What's interesting is that this discussion is the foundation for any role-playing game, browser-based or otherwise. Alex points out that an Old West RPG should have more than the standard attack, defense, speed, and hit points…but the field is littered with RPGs that have attempted to emulate a genre without the appropriate mechanics.

Player vs. player combat is where role-playing games with few statistics are really measured. I've had personal experience with this sort of combat on MUSHes and it's a tricky thing; with only the loosest rules, it comes down to a more codified version of cops and robbers with the players arguing who shot who. In these sorts of conflicts, Alex explains how to mitigate arguments. The comparison to MUSHes is apt, as Alex also advises on how to encourage players to role-play.

The question of items and equipment extends beyond the players and into the realm of objects independent of characters. It brings up questions of money, barter, currency, theft, equipment decay, and more. Character maintenance is another issue that vexes browser-based games because the nature of forums is impermanent. Alex hits on Wikis as a solution, which shows the history of edits to a character and thus increases the likelihood of being able to uncover a cheater.

Chapter four covers administration and the advice is as relevant for BBGs as it is for MUDs and even MMORPGs. It's valuable advice for any game:

You should always try to make yourself as approachable as possible so that you can personally help those with questions or problems. Even if you have the best RPG on the internet, if the head admin is not active it will wither away and die.

Alex then identifies the challenges with staffing the game and enforcing the rules, including banishment, rogue quitting, and hater sites. Throughout the chapter are very real, raw examples that illustrate the dangers of not dealing with these issues appropriately. Alex has a lot of hard-earned experience and it shows here.

The fifth chapter deals with the elements of role-playing, including basic spelling, grammar, and formatting. Chapter six details how to monetize the site and the tricky art of collecting donations for a game in which you don't own the rights to the setting. The last chapter covers Alex's experience and history with BBGs. The book is rounded out with appendices on basic HTML and hosting options.

Alex's book is an important work, not just for BBGs but for any administrator starting their own online RPG.