Paizo announces Paizo Game Space

I love you Paizo!!!!!

Wow. More details, please.

This will be awesome!

Awesome! I know several people that will be excited to hear that.

Please tell me max resolution maps includes the maps for PFS Scenarios! That would be awesome!

I think we're going to be seeing the number of PbP games rise soon. :)

Going to need to see what the free vs pay options are first.

I can do free game table with my PDF maps for free already with roll20.net.

YES! YES! YES!

Shut the f door! Modules supported as well?

Mechacorgi rises?!

Hope that this doesn't put Paizo in over its head at all. Sounds interesting though.

Unfortunately we do not have definite details for what assets will be available (maps, tokens and such). This aspect is still in the planning stages, and may be tied into other portions of the Game Space project.

However, I have to say: OMG!!! :D

The name may change, too. I like "Paizo Game Space" but maybe there's a better name to be had. We'll see, we're taking an iterative approach to development and rollout.

The name may change, too. I like "Paizo Game Space" but maybe there's a better name to be had. We'll see, we're taking an iterative approach to development and rollout.

The Electronic Pathfindernarium!

I've been hearing about this everyday for forever! I am soooo glad I don't have to keep this secret anymore!

I find this to be pretty exciting news. Did I read somewhere that the initial rollout will be this summer?

Winter_Born wrote:

Going to need to see what the free vs pay options are first.

Announced at the Banquet:

There are no pay options. Everything is 100% free.

The Paizo Facebook page said otherwise. There are free options.

"Paizo Details haven't been finalized but there will be a way to play for free.
2 hours ago via mobile · Like"

Any maps we produce will be done using the same resolution we send to the printer. I guess if we ever downsampled a map for the printer in that case we'd use the original, higher resolution map instead.

Basically we will be using the maximum resolution we can get from our artists. Paizo Game Space will deliver those maps as efficiently as possible so you're not downloading the entire all at once. The original file for the example we used in the demo was 300dpi and weighed in at 200MB, and zooming and panning on it is really smooth.

I guess we could post a video or something of the thing in action, but I'd rather put our efforts into filing off the remaining sharp edges so we can let people play with it as soon as possible. Software like this is more meant to be touched and played with than to be watched.

Hmm. I guess I could just post the working script for my presentation, that way everybody's on the same page and we won't be playing a game of "telephone" to figure out what exactly we announced.

Hmm. I guess I could just post the working script for my presentation, that way everybody's on the same page and we won't be playing a game of "telephone" to figure out what exactly we announced.

Please do.

Paizo Game Space

current run through: 7 minutes. previous run-through: 9 minutes

pre-demo checklist

mouse for laptop
mac mini, ethernet cable, plugged in, turned on
http://192.168.132.126:55435
hide browser chrome

sign in, select Gary Teter's Swallowtail Festival
zoom in on ginormous dragon so big as possible

minimize window

have separate blank browser window open in case of accidental switching

--

presentation

We're working on a lot of stuff:
A redesign of the Pathfinder Society website, along with new forums for each faction
Way to upload character sheets and stat blocks to paizo.com, going to be biggest stat block database on the internet
More stuff I can't talk about.

Tonight i'm going to talk about one thing.

Today, Paizo is announcing a new way to play the games you love: Paizo Game Space.

[main screen ON, showing map with dragon]

--

Paizo Game Space is amazing software that lets you play with the people you know... anywhere in the world. All you need is the internet.

It's a virtual tabletop. Now VTTs aren't new. I'm gonna say "VTT" a lot because "virtual tabletop" is kind of a mouthful.

Virtual tabletops aren't new. There have been literally dozens of them before this. Some of them we like. Some of them we like a lot.

But none of them is exactly what we think a virtual tabletop should be.

..

We've talked to a lot of people and they all say the same thing:

We love playing on a VTT. We can keep our group together after people move away.

We love playing on a VTT. As Cosmo told me the other day, it lets him game in his underwear without all the catcalling and wolf whistles.

People love playing on a VTT. But they're kind of annoying!

You have to find the software. And download it. Install it. Will it run on a Mac? That's a big one for us at Paizo.

And then you get the fun part. IP addresses and firewalls and port forwarding and all that. Even network administrators don't want to deal with that stuff. That's work! We're here for fun.

..

So today, Paizo is reinventing the virtual tabletop.

Paizo Game Space runs right in your web browser. There's no software to install! None. Not even a plug-in.
If you can get to paizo.com, you and your friends can play on Paizo Game Space.

We're all about making life better for gamers. We've built Paizo Game Space to do just that. So let's take a quick look.

..

[.... demo ... ]

Here I've got the first combat from Rise of the Runelords, the Swallowtail Festival.

Smooth scrolling, panning, zooming

Drag tokens around. Resize dragon back to huge from "ginormous". Move it off map.

..

So here's the thing. Running a game in a VTT is fun, but the prep work is kind of a pain.

You still have to find a map, prepare it, resize it, load it, align the grid. And then you get to go looking for monster art and tokens and handouts and all the rest.

And for some of us that's fun, but sometimes you just want to play.

..

Paizo Game Space changes all that.

We're going to do the prep work for you.

When you run an adventure like Rise of the Runelords on Paizo Game Space, all the maps and handouts, all the monsters and NPCs, will already be right there for you.

..

Zoom in to FRUIT CART note, we had technical difficulties with the Swallowtail map, so instead we used a different flip-mat, so actually zoomed into carpet details instead of seeing individual fruits in fruit cart

The source for this map is about 200 megabytes. It's higher resolution than what we put in our PDFs. This is the original art we send to the printer. Maximum resolution.

Zoom out.

..

Let's take a quick look at combat. I want to emphasize something here about our approach.

We are not implementing the Pathfinder rules in Paizo Game Space. That would be crazy.

Our approach is, just don't be stupid by default.

..

Show Initiative tab.

So it knows a little about initiative.

Roll initiative. Modify a roll.

Start combat. Next, next. Round separator.

So it knows a little about initiative, it knows players and monsters go in order, and it knows about rolling dice. But if you need to change something you can.

Drag to reorder initiative. Click to delay or ready. Next, next. Take readied action.

...

OK, so that's a brief look at Paizo Game Space. I can't tell you how excited I am about this.

Let me answer a couple questions I know you have: When can I use it. And how much is it gonna cost.

When can I use it.

It's not quite ready yet. Don't worry, we're not going to wait until it's perfect. It turns out, software is never perfect.
So you'll be able to play with Paizo Game Space sometime this summer. And we'll keep making it better as we go.

How much will it cost?

Nothing. We haven't worked out all of the details yet. Or really any of the details.
But you'll be able to play a game on our virtual tabletop and not pay us a dime.

We'll have ways for you to give us money, don't worry about that. We like money.

But the main reason we're working on this is to build our community. Provide a place for you to gather.

A place to meet, talk, hang around, buy stuff. And now, game.

Thank you, and good night!

I stand corrected. Previous erroneous post deleted.

I have just started a Skull & Shackles game on roll20.net, and that is one magical piece of work (http://roll20.net/).

Will there be options for:

Dropping in our own maps?

Drawing all over the map?

Creating and dropping in our own tokens?

While I am incredibly excited about this (Paizo is rapidly becoming a one-stop table-top online shop <try saying that 10 times real fast>) I just need to know that this option is going to have all the capabilities that the other free option has, before I migrate over when this goes live.

Still: Thank you Paizo for embracing the future.

I don't expect a lot of games to migrate right away. I think most existing campaigns probably depend on the features offered by the VTT they're currently using, and it'll be awhile before our feature set is up to par. And I'm sure there will be features that we may never do, especially related to automating combat and adjudicating rules.

I think we're going to have a great place to play, but it definitely won't be the only place.

Didn't another well-known RPG company try something like this, and completely and utterly fail at it? I'll admit, that concerns me.

And din't they try a model that required us to pay for it?

Didn't another well-known RPG company try something like this, and completely and utterly fail at it? I'll admit, that concerns me.

The part that reassures me about this is the following:

When can I use it.

It's not quite ready yet. Don't worry, we're not going to wait until it's perfect. It turns out, software is never perfect.
So you'll be able to play with Paizo Game Space sometime this summer. And we'll keep making it better as we go.

One of the main reasons Wizards' attempt failed so spectacularly was a complete lack of openness... if whatever is ready is going to be released to the public later this year, even if it's not entirely finished, then the chances of absolutely nothing getting done along with claims that it's "almost ready" are much smaller.

So let me get this right..the VTT is real time?..in which case it won't be much use for the PbP's here as they tend to span continents and many many time zones.

I do worry sometimes about Paizo's explosion of diversification this year..it reminds me of a certain company once based in Lake Geneva Michigan

So let me get this right..the VTT is real time?..in which case it won't be much use for the PbP's here as they tend to span continents and many many time zones.

I do worry sometimes about Paizo's explosion of diversification this year..it reminds me of a certain company once based in Lake Geneva Michigan

Isn't Lake Geneva in Wisconsin? And, I don't think they are doing away with the pbp forums. At least they haven't said that. They are 2 different types of games, and I would think they want to have both of them popular. More players=more sales. Doesn't matter how they play.

I don't see this replacing PbP, but if a group can get online at the same time even occasionally, it could be pretty handy for running through a big combat that might otherwise take weeks.

What is great about this is that it will be system agnostic which is smart. Selling APs and Golarion material is where Paizo is strongest.

Can we get a video of the presentation?

I understand its not 3D but thats ok.

EDIT: I just saw its free

I guess that explains why Lisa giggled at this Q form Ken Austin.

What code base being used (Flash/HTML5)? I particularly do not want to use flash. How much automation/scripting will the system allow me? I currently use MapTool and I would like to have many of the same features. If automation is just 2d10+5 then pass.

"We'll have ways for you to give us money, don't worry about that." I'm afraid that means to pay for the content from each expansion in a way similar to the way Hero Lab/Lone Wolf does it. Unfortunately, if that's the case, I've already spent too much there to switch over, even if Gamespace is a superior environment.

I'm hoping this was kept in mind.

Will we be able to password protect games?

Please keep in mind that people use Projectors at their game table while making this project. =)

"We'll have ways for you to give us money, don't worry about that." I'm afraid that means to pay for the content from each expansion in a way similar to the way Hero Lab/Lone Wolf does it. Unfortunately, if that's the case, I've already spent too much there to switch over, even if Gamespace is a superior environment.

I'm hoping this was kept in mind.

Uhhh, it's already been said that it'll be free. I think the "we'll get money out of you elsewhere" means that they don't plan to stop selling APs, books, PDFs, etc.

I'm just hoping it works out to where you could do something like show up here and throw a pick-up game for a couple of hours for whoever is on and up for it.

Well, played, Paizo! If the AP subscription is going to include access to tokens and maps relevant to each book for use in PGS, my old group back home and I will use the heck out of it.

Gary, this makes me very happy to see! Goes without saying I'm sure.

Hey Forum, I'm one of the people they "talked to"! Isn't that cool? I guess I'm awesome.

That is all.

I just hope they'll also make an app for it!

Will this just be used for Paizo material, or can we do a original campaign?

While I'll not likely run RotRL virtually, I surely appreciate this possibility! Awesome! :)

Gary, how about printing out those maps and handouts, or modifying them for (my own games) in Photoshop? Will that be possible via Game Space?

Gary, this makes me very happy to see! Goes without saying I'm sure.

Hey Forum, I'm one of the people they "talked to"! Isn't that cool? I guess I'm awesome.

That is all.

No, you're not -- although you do get props for being a fellow LE compatriot. Only Chelaxians, Paizonians and dwarves are awesome! ;P

Hopefully FOW will be a feature added down the road.

Evil Lincoln wrote:

Gary, this makes me very happy to see! Goes without saying I'm sure.

Hey Forum, I'm one of the people they "talked to"! Isn't that cool? I guess I'm awesome.

That is all.

No, you're not -- although you do get props for being a fellow LE compatriot. Only Chelaxians, Paizonians and dwarves are awesome! ;P

And Succubi are best of all, now go polish my boots worm!