Voice vs Text

[mrgrey]

Simply put, I'm one of those weirdos who prefer using text chat to VoIP for VTT gaming. It might be from my time playing MUDs and MUSHes back in the day, but I find it easier to role play that way. I was wondering if, as it seems, I'm actually in the minority here - and if I am, how many people would actually be OK with running or playing text only even if they prefer VoIP? I would usually be OK playing with voice chat (and have done in the past), but I find I tend to take a much more passive role in such games.

[TriOpticon]

I played a RPG text only game a couple Sundays ago. Voice was used out of character, rules questions, etc. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It does allow you to get your words in without worrying about audio issues. I would not have a problem as long as voice was available for rules questions, etc.

[mrgrey]

I played a RPG text only game a couple Sundays ago. Voice was used out of character, rules questions, etc. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It does allow you to get your words in without worrying about audio issues. I would not have a problem as long as voice was available for rules questions, etc.

That makes sense; I mean, voice for OOC stuff saves a lot of time (and keeps the chat log a little cleaner), while text for IC allows for a little more detail when describing actions, and removes the requirement to separate IC/OOC knowledge when things are said in a language your character doesn't speak.

[LordEntrails]

Text is a minority, but a strong one. I know this question (or ones like it) come up several times a year and their are usually several GMs that respond that they run text only games.

Seems to me that GMs are in pretty high demand, and good ones even more so, therefor if you are thinking of running a text only game,I don't think you will have many problems finding players for it just because it's text.

Now, if you're looking for a text game, that might be harder, since it's always harder to find a game than to find players *G*

[mrgrey]

Text is a minority, but a strong one. I know this question (or ones like it) come up several times a year and their are usually several GMs that respond that they run text only games.

Seems to me that GMs are in pretty high demand, and good ones even more so, therefor if you are thinking of running a text only game,I don't think you will have many problems finding players for it just because it's text.

That's good to know; I have an ultimate license, so I would like to get some use out of that eventually. On the other hand, I need to find somewhere where I can actually run a game on the internet - I live in a rented place and do not have access to the router, which makes port forwarding pretty much impossible.


Now, if you're looking for a text game, that might be harder, since it's always harder to find a game than to find players *G*

That's entirely fair - I mean, finding a game that runs in the evening GMT is often hard enough; let alone one that runs in a way that only a minority of people prefer.

[damned]

That's good to know; I have an ultimate license, so I would like to get some use out of that eventually. On the other hand, I need to find somewhere where I can actually run a game on the internet - I live in a rented place and do not have access to the router, which makes port forwarding pretty much impossible.

Try Hamachi.

[JohnD]

I ran text for ~ 10 years in NWN and NWN2. Exhausting typing 50 wpm for 3+ hours and still not being able to keep up. Never again.

[GunnarGreybeard]

I've run several text only games for years now. They do run at a slower pace but, can be sped with more GM prep time. Me being a slower typer than most probably does not help with game speed though. I also like the ability to use the language feature in FG as well as having a detailed log of the sessions to refer back to about what was said, made know to players, who the group interacted with and attitudes between the PC's and those actors, etc.

Like some of the others have mentioned, while there is a demand for it, it's a lot smaller than voice games.

[Valarian]

I tend to run text games as I prefer the written media for character and story immersion. I also prefer text on the rare occasions I get to play.

I'm currently playing in a Star Trek Adventures game run by borusa32, using the text chat. If you've looking for a game, reach out to the GM: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/?id=2999

[twistedtechmike]

As a DM, I find myself using chat more and more as an anti-meta mechanic (i.e. whispers). If only one person hears, sees, or does something, whispers are great for that. I could see a text game being much more immersive though. I find it easier to get my words on paper than out my mouth lol

[jasonthelamb]

I used to play in text-only games, but as a DM I very much prefer voice-only... sure, it may be embarrassing to make voices (or not make voices, to each their own) - but text-only takes a loooooong time to act out, and I feel like if you have 1-2 people who are at 100 WPM and 1-2 people at 1-2 at 50 WPM, the later two are going to just be "left in the dust" with text-only.

[SirGraystone]

I used to play in text-only games, but as a DM I very much prefer voice-only... sure, it may be embarrassing to make voices (or not make voices, to each their own) - but text-only takes a loooooong time to act out, and I feel like if you have 1-2 people who are at 100 WPM and 1-2 people at 1-2 at 50 WPM, the later two are going to just be "left in the dust" with text-only.

While this is true, you have more quiet peoples "left out" in voice too.

[Honken]

I myself prefer voice over text, I have no problem typing fast, but i feel that it can never be as fast as something talked out in a conversation. And as for typing I am not an Author quality writer either.

/Honken

[Callum]

That makes sense; I mean, voice for OOC stuff saves a lot of time (and keeps the chat log a little cleaner), while text for IC allows for a little more detail when describing actions, and removes the requirement to separate IC/OOC knowledge when things are said in a language your character doesn't speak.

This is the way I run my games - voice for OOC, text for IC - for exactly these reasons. It works well for me and my groups!

[mrgrey]

While this is true, you have more quiet peoples "left out" in voice too.

This is part of the problem I have with voice during play; I'm generally fairly quiet, so unless people make an effort to make space for me to talk, my characters tend to just fade into the background. Now, with voice for OOC and text for IC, if someone who doesn't type very quickly is being left behind, someone can just quickly ask the faster typers to slow down a little. One thing that I found worked reasonably well on MUDs was the idea that once you've done an in character thing, you don't do anything else until everybody else in the scene has had a chance to respond to it.

[LordEntrails]

Which ever way you go, during session 0, and periodically as needed at other times, it never hurts to remind everyone to be aware of all the other players and allow each player to have their chance to contribute.

When we are not (and even when we are) sitting around a table, it's easy to forget that we are actually in a group of people and no one should monopolize the conversation.

[mac40k]

I never played in a face-to-face game where the players all passed notes to each other and I have no wish to do so in my VTT experiences either. I'm not big on texting either as anything that requires any amount of back and forth will be done much quicker and easier in a phone call. I've never played nor have an interest in a play-by-post game either. These days online play is my only means of engaging with the hobby and FG is my VTT of choice (and has been for nearly 10 years now) since combined with a VOIP, it provides the closest experience to face-to-face gaming that I can get. As for people that are shy or not as loud as others, that's the GM's responsibility to deal with IMO, just like it would be in a face-to-face game.

[LordEntrails]

... As for people that are shy or not as loud as others, that's the GM's responsibility to deal with IMO, just like it would be in a face-to-face game.
I think it's the GM's responsibility to be the focal point for any OOC issues, but I think it's the responsibility of all players to be considerate of everyone else.

[Trenloe]

I think it's the GM's responsibility to be the focal point for any OOC issues, but I think it's the responsibility of all players to be considerate of everyone else.
Exactly.

A good GM will notice if someone is slipping to the background, but as in any social interaction when working as a team, every individual should be aware of those in the team and try to engage everyone and work as a team. Not say stuff like "Huh? Trenloe? He never says anything. He's useless!" I hear this a lot... ;-)

[Zacchaeus]

"Huh? Trenloe? He never says anything. He's useless!" I hear this a lot... ;-)

With an average of over 2,500 posts a year I find this very hard to believe :)

[Zacchaeus]

I've never played in a text only game but I wonder if I did if I would start off by typing things like 'Zacchaeus hurls himself at the Orc, blade drawn and with a blood curling yell plunges it into the foul beasts chest' and after a short time just roll the attack dice.

[mrgrey]

I've never played in a text only game but I wonder if I did if I would start off by typing things like 'Zacchaeus hurls himself at the Orc, blade drawn and with a blood curling yell plunges it into the foul beasts chest' and after a short time just roll the attack dice.

I think it kind of depends on the style of game you're playing. If you're playing a game that gives you a bunch of different options, then I'd imagine getting bored of descriptions would be less common. When I used to play D&D 4e, my favourite session was an LFR game where our GM told us not to tell him what powers we were using, but just to say what it looks like, what we rolled to hit vs which defence, and what the effects are on a hit or miss. With the number of different options a PC has, there's rarely chance to get bored and start just rolling to hit. Likewise in a game where combat tends to be relatively short, there's less time to get bored of writing out descriptions.

That's my take on it at least; anybody else's mileage will obviously vary.

[GavinRuneblade]

I've never played in a text only game but I wonder if I did if I would start off by typing things like 'Zacchaeus hurls himself at the Orc, blade drawn and with a blood curling yell plunges it into the foul beasts chest' and after a short time just roll the attack dice.

I have a couple of players who do things like this. We mostly use voice, however if someone wants to separate from the group, or do something they may or may not notice, it gets typed. Also lots of emoting and flourish added to actions gets typed rather than spoken.

[Logan-05]

Simply put, I'm one of those weirdos who prefer using text chat to VoIP for VTT gaming. It might be from my time playing MUDs and MUSHes back in the day, but I find it easier to role play that way. I was wondering if, as it seems, I'm actually in the minority here - and if I am, how many people would actually be OK with running or playing text only even if they prefer VoIP? I would usually be OK playing with voice chat (and have done in the past), but I find I tend to take a much more passive role in such games.

In the spirit of better late than never, I've just now found this thread and wanted to respond. For my part, I much prefer text-only chat for VTT gaming. My experience is that the rollplaying is substantially enhanced by it, and many of the wonderful features of FG really come alive when play is text-only. I'm thinking of "emotes" as well as "whispers" and of course the ability to 'speak' in foreign languages.