Playing RPGs on Google Wave

November 4, 1:36 PMChicago RPG ExaminerMichael Shorten

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If you're a technology geek, you may have heard of the new communication tool that Google is working on - Google Wave. This potentially revolutionary new service combines the best parts of email, forum/bulletin board message threading, instant messaging/chat and multimedia into a powerful platform - or at least that is what Google hopes! Currently, it is in "preview", meaning that you have to have an invite to check it out.

There are two uses that new Internet technology usually spawns - and we're not going to talk about the XXX kind of use - then you probably can guess we're talking about playing games. Google Wave has been open for maybe 6 weeks now and playing games, especially roleplaying games, is starting to take off in a new way.

Google Wave works on the principle of a "space" where you create content, then other people can reply to that content, or share that content, or branch off that content into a new space. You can put text and images, as well as "gadgets" that provide functionality. If you've used Google Mail, or Google Maps, you've seen how the web can become a rich interface.

In a game I'm playing (and yes, I'm geeky enough to play an online Role Playing Game in a new preview technology...) we have created our "character sheets" as separate Waves which we've shared with the GM, and then linked them in a main Wave. This main recruiting wave looks a lot like a web forum.

The actual play will be done in another wave and here is where the power of Wave comes through. Some interaction may be done in a "post" fashion, where people respond similar to email responses or forum responses. However, for some situations, the shared space may turn into a chatroom where people add in responses in "real time" - that could be useful for combat or resolution of situations that require more interaction than just a post. You can also use gadgets like dice rollers or new apps that are being developed - like a mapping utility which mashes up Google Maps into Google Wave. Now that's cool!

They haven't opened up the preview to a "beta" where anyone can use it, so you have to find someone with an invite. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Google has given me any invites yet on it, so I can't hand them out. However, if you'd like see a video of Google Wave and what it can do, there's a video here you can check out.

If you are on Google Wave, here are some waves you might want to check out:

• An index of RPG Waves
• A discussion on using Wave for RPG
• Fighty Map app
• Swords & Wizardry RPG Wave (the gameI'm participating in)