Roleplaying games don’t have to be a bonding experience where you and your friends hang out and have a good time, drink beers and make jokes at each other’s expense, now Behold Studios and Paradox have made it possible for you to have all the fun of a roleplaying experience without having to have any pesky social interaction. They’ve announced that they’ll be releasing an updated version of Knights of Pen & Paper with the new +1 Edition.
Previously the game was only available on mobile devices, but this will be coming to assorted home computer options like PC, Mac and Linux.The game is a sort of meta-version of fantasy games, where you’re seeing an adventure take place, but rather than interact with it directly, you control the actions of people playing it as a roleplaying game, making them take actions that affect gameplay. It’s odd, but this pitch trailer does a great job of explaining how it’s implemented.
Though the art style doesn’t quite denote that it’s a game all about roleplaying fantasy (that’d normally be portrayed with rough sketches hastily done to accommodate unexpected player demands) and instead opts for an 8 Bit look, it’s cute enough to get past the missed opportunity.
The best part about it is you have a customisation option of you different party members, but you don’t just customise who they are, you customise the character they’re playing as as well. You also can decorate the room that your party are playing in and that’ll confer statistical benefits too.
It’s a weird, very silly idea that’s done well for them already on mobile platforms and could do even better on others if it’s pitched correctly and made cheap enough.