itch.io

I am sorry to hear that this was so difficult for you. However, I also think that you have also missed the point then of this Jam. This is meant to be a place where opinions are allowed to be inconvenient, unsanitized, and crude- If I were operating in another format, I would have modulated myself more, made it more digestible.

However, do not take this as me acquiescing to your arguments for me being bitter or self-centered- to be frank, I do find it rude that you choose to assume so much about me based on a disagreement over ttrpgs. In the end, we both want the same thing- for people who play them to be happy, and for them to have the best experience they can. Now, you seem to believe very strongly that any way to play them is correct and equally valid- I say no. If a DM uses AI, they are (rightly) branded a fraud. If a player harasses others, they are removed from the party. These are ways in which the space is curated when there are bad actors in it.

Now, as I said in the manifesto, there is nothing wrong with players using digital tools as a general proposition- it is necessary and important to do so in many cases. The problem is that many players, especially new ones, use them as a crutch to avoid playing the game apart from what parts they want to play- it's a phenomena I've seen many times before. And the fact that it is so normalized to use these tools only exacerbates the problem- now, most new players will expect to only engage with ttrpgs through the highly curated and controlled medium that digitization provides.

Now, does this stop them from having fun? No. And perhaps I am shortsighted in that I cannot see the way they play as more fun than fully engaging with the session. But I do think I am fully correct in my belief that it is a worse experience of ttrpgs in general. 

Now, you can believe that the joy of the players comes before the experience that ttrpgs are meant to provide. I'm sure it's a very popular opinion. But I think that if we follow this line of thinking to it's invertible conclusion, we lose the very things which make ttrpgs so wonderful in the first place. Call of Cthulu without the high fatality and helpless setting is not horror, and DND without combat is only a third of the game it was designed to be. And of course, those experiences might be more fun for the players at the table- but that doesn't make them better. 

If my manifesto truly breaks the hearts of good players who play differently than me, then I will morn that. But I think that art is meant to challenge and engage, and digitizing ttrpgs renders them far less able to do either.

Even if you still disagree with me (and I suspect you do), I would encourage you to remember this. Not out of a belief on my end that you will change your opinion- but rather so that you are not as shaken the next time you meet someone you disagree with so heavily. This is a cruel world- it's best that you don't let yourself get torn up by it. Have a good day, and may you find fortune in all your endeavors.