The Rise of Solo RPGs
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KgB5C6Wgng
Transcription
[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Eternity TTRPG YouTube channel, where I discuss, uh, different happenings in the tabletop role-playing universe, as well as talk about the game that my husband and I have been creating now. So this go around, um, I wanted to talk more about a new side of the tabletop role-playing community that is gaining traction, I think.
Um, Gen Con did something a little different this year that I haven't talked about yet, and I think it's important to bring light to it and bring it up in conversation, you know? So I already covered that D&D itself is going to universes beyond, you know, going into World of Warcraft, Star Wars, all those different kind of things.
Um, and that's great for D&D, but I also think they're gonna push a new direction given what Gen Con did, right? So at Gen Con, there is an award [00:01:00] ceremony, right, called the Ennie Awards,
The Ennie Awards are where the industry itself picks X number of games for a category, and then fans get to vote on it, and the fans get to decide what's gonna be the most popular and when, right? So it's kind of a big deal for Gen Con to be doing this every year, and they have their usual categories, right?
They added a new category this year, and they've been talking about adding this category for years, but I guess it didn't have enough traction until now. The new category was for Best Solo RPG. And immediately my mind goes to, "Wait, why do we need solo RPGs?" And, you know, now we bring up the whole conversation of, oh my gosh, a solo RPG.
Um, this could be here because, you know, adults can never get together with a busy work schedule and trying to nail down consistent timing because something [00:02:00] always comes up between work, home, um, kids, you know, just random family emergencies. There's always something keeping you from the game table, so you can't get with your normal group to run a campaign.
So solo RPGs.
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So with this, um, announcement at Gen Con of having this category, there was five games that the industry decided would be in this, um, collection that fans could vote off of. Um, Odyssey of the Giant was the first one, and it's about escorting a giant, the last giant, across a devastated fantasy world.
And then there was Pirouette, which is a solo horror ballet.
Um, Song of the Scriptworm is a mystery involving an infinite library. Spine is an experimental RPG about losing yourself in a book. And then finally, The Bonsai Diary is about growing a bonsai tree across different generations. Um, just so you know, Spine took first, and The Bonsai Diary took second, so we officially have winners for the first solo RPG, um, nominations at the Ennie Awards.
And I kind of don't know where to go from there. [00:04:00] I mean, I'm gonna admit when I don't wanna play the game that my husband has created and he can't get friends over, he does do solo campaigns. And he has been making the game to where you can do it as a single player or with a campaign group, um, which I think is a great idea, but I guess I just didn't see it as necessary.
Um, but apparently it is, because people still want to play the game, but they don't necessarily have access to the friend group that you wish you had. Um, so here we go into our fantasy world after a long day at work, and instead of diving into a virtual video game, you can now do it with a tabletop role-playing game.
So now the question lies with having this been created and you have all these smaller creators, you know, taking over this category. And not only that, but at Gen Con you actually have rooms dedicated to solo role-playing [00:05:00] games now. But is the giant communities of like Pathfinder and Wizards of the Coast gonna try and create a product that's gonna be a solo RPG now, um, instead of their usual geared towards groups and everything?
So that's definitely a question that comes up in my mind is how are they going to... It's not a combat thing, but how are they going to continue to be in this world, I guess, if we're shifting towards solo RPGs. One thing that was announced, um, by a bigger creator was that Fallout is now coming out with a solo RPG, um, called The Wasteland Wanderer, and it is a standalone game.
You create your vault dweller, you create your vault, and you get to explore the wasteland, and it is specifically created for solo RPG. So we already have these bigger companies that are creating, um, these solo games [00:06:00] now. Obviously, it's not the biggest company with Wizards of the Coast or Pathfinder, but we're getting there.
So now not only do we have these companies creating these solo RPGs, everyone trying to get in on that, but we also have, you know, the electronic world trying to get on, in on this, and that's where we come into AI-powered systems. And I know that AI is such a curse word in the tabletop role-playing community because, you know, when we think AI in the tabletop role-playing community, it's gonna be your AI art, and, you know, that's such a bad thing.
And I agree, I really wanna see, um, real artists, real creators, um, but when you're looking at wanting to have an electronic, like, world, I guess, where it's created by something electronic because you don't have friends to talk to or a campaign to really go at with friends, then maybe having ChatGPT do it for [00:07:00] you isn't a bad idea, right?
'Cause you have someone that can bounce ideas off of, and you can have someone else create them. Because although imagination is limitless, maybe in those moments you don't have enough. So with that in mind, there are AI-powered systems that have already been created. Um, Wonderhold is the one that comes to mind, and it launched in May of this year.
And it, of course, you know, creates the campaign for you. You get to type to it, talk to it, and figure out where you're going to go with your campaign. So where do we go from here? Do we need game masters, game designers when we're using AI, when we're going the solo route, when friend groups can't get together because of life?
So with all of that in mind, let me know what you think, from the Ennie Awards to checking out these solo RPGs, um, to figuring out what's next. Comment, like, subscribe, let me know. Have a good [00:08:00] one.
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Author - Jacob Tegtman
Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed this article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.
I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.
If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.












