Just bouncing off Rob Donoghue’s post about the unique assets of roleplaying.

Here was my reply.

For me, roleplaying offers collaboration and interaction. No other medium does it quite so well.
Sure, you’ve got your MMORPGs and FPS deathmatches, but these engender direct, economic hostilities, whereby another person’s loss is to your benefit.
In a tabletop RPG, there is often a mush towards a storytelling experience, that can be shared and re-shared, and broken down and explored, which does not rely on the normal gaming antagonism.
It is the society of the tabletop paradigm that makes it unique. People enter into a short term contract, during which time each of the participants will be engaging with each other’s stories, for better or for worse. This sharing and layering creates unpredictable results to which, though no one holds absolute responsibility, you are a direct influence.
That’s kind of unique, though video games are starting to venture into that realm with success(Left for Dead).

Sorry for the laziness of today’s post.