A post in another forum about Fantasy Grounds and MapTools in Pathfinder got me thinking again about incorporating a Virtual Table Top into my Real Life Table Top game. My group meets face to face regularly, but I can see a lot of potential in using a VTT to have an infinitely expandable map, deal with Fog of War, etc. Unfortunately I don’t have the space to set up a top-down projector or to set up a dedicated under-lit projector table as I have seen on some other DIY gamers set up.
So, my question is what’s the best way to go about this? I’m already using a Mac Laptop (running Windows XP in a virtual machine) at the table. I’m assuming it would be best to have a second computer as the Player machine, but I’m trying to figure out the best way to work the logistics from there.
One thought I had was setting up a large-ish monitor (21” or so) facing the players as an electronic DM screen of sorts, and have a wireless mouse connected to the computer driving the monitor that they could pass around the table on their turns. Seems a little inelegant, but it would keep the space used to a minimum, and could also be considered (semi)portable.
I also thought about bringing the game into the living room and connecting to the big HDTV through an HDMI video card, but my wife doesn’t play, so she would be more than a bit irritated if we completely dominated the house on our 12+ hour game days. I also don’t like the idea of not having the table to sit around – I feel it helps focus.
The other thought I had was a projector on the wall, but with that we run into the same problems of space and distance to throw the projection.
Regardless of these ideas, there still the problem of controlling individual characters. I feel the wireless mouse might be our best option.
Anyway, I’m mostly curious to see if anyone else has set up something similar and if there are any pitfalls I should be aware of. Thanks in advance for the input.
I have done this with a computer and an HD wall-projector. True everyone was sitting on couches rather then at a table but I only allowed gaming utensils, snacks, soda, what not in the room. It was one of the more enjoyable D&D campaigns I've run. Everyone was really engaged and focused.
At that time I used Flash to create everything I needed for the game. Dice rolling was done carefully on books or in shoe box lids.
The book I ran was The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde.
I got an email from a Battlegrounds user who had this to say:
"I am working on a project that I will share on the BG forums once I am done with it to show just how killer BG can be. I am building a 32 inch widescreen 720p lcd tv into a gaming table, with the tv laying flat under some tempered glass."
He promised to send me pics of the setup once it's finished.
I figure this general idea would work with either an HDTV or with a computer LCD monitor. Care should be taken to provide adequate ventilation, of course.
Battlegrounds' hidden-until-you-need-it interface is ideal for this sort of face-to-face gaming, and if you have a decent sound system to take advantage of the program's audio features, all the better.