RPGamer News Roundtable Discussion Forum

The Superbowl Shuffle

September 9th, 2002
Updater on Duty:Justin Weiss

There's really nothing like a professional football game. I'm lucky enough to go to the University of Illinois, where the Chicago Bears have made their temporary home this season. I managed to catch the season opener against the Vikings yesterday, and let me tell you - the energy that goes through the crowd at a game is just unbelievable. Anyway, to get to the business at hand, our roundtable tonight was lacking a component seen in the last few roundtables: A reader. Unfortunately, the reader scheduled to appear was unavailable, so we're bringing you a staff-only roundtable this time around. We'll most likely have another reader roundtable next time.

We went for some classic arguments this time around, ranging from discussions on characters in RPGs and whether or not these characters should be forced into or out of a players party to the difficulty of RPGs (or lack thereof) and how it relates to the linearity of an RPG, and the addition of secrets into the genre that are nearly impossible to find without a strategy guide or FAQ, and are really not worth it when they are found. These topics have provided some deep discussion before, and this time around is no different, and our staffers even came up with some very interesting ideas on how to get around the problems inherent in each side of the arguments. Read on, and be sure to send dissenting opinions to rtable@rpgamer.com - I'll discuss and respond to as many of them as I can.

We're still open to applications to sit on our roundtable and talk about games with your favorite staff members of RPGamer; the link is on the sidebar to the right. Suggestions, comments, possible discussion topics, and anything else you feel like throwing my way are always welcome, and should be sent to rtable@rpgamer.com. Have a good week, and keep reading!

Topics of Discussion

This Week's Panelists

Panelist #1 Vital Signs Name: Alan Knight Email: tsg@rpgamer.com Location: England Why Me? Fanfics Editor Panelist #2 Vital Signs Name: David Looney Email: trc@rpgamer.com Location: Texas Why Me? Guides Editor

Panelist #3 Vital Signs Name: Googleshng Email: googleshng@rpgamer.com Location: Connecticut Why Me? Q&A Master Panelist #4 Vital Signs Name: Michael Bischoff Email: kamikaze@rpgamer.com Location: Illinois Why Me? RPGamer Mediaite

Panelist #5 Vital Signs Name: Justin Weiss Email: thevortex@rpgamer.com Location: Illinois Why Me? Roundtable Director