Forum:'Tabletop' RPGs not given the identity they need in the Central Wikia categories

Before I start, I'd just like to point out a couple of background facts:
 * 1) The first commercial 'role playing games' were 'tabletop' games (like Dungeons & Dragons).
 * 2) Computer RPGs came along later, but have become so popular that many people mean 'computer role playing game' when they say 'role playing game'.

So we now have a situation where the term 'RPG' has been 'hijacked' by computer RPGs in the eyes of many people.

But this does mean that the original RPGs (the tabletop RPGs) are a lot harder for people to classify. Wikia has a number of wikis dedicated to these 'classic style' RPGs, but the way they are categorized is inconsistent. And I don't think that Gaming Wiki promotes them is a way that helps visitors find a game that is both a RPG and a tabletop game.

At the moment some wikis (like the Forgotten Realms Wiki) are listed under 'Tabletop' while other wikis are put into 'Tabletop RPG'. That category is more accurate, but less used. And the Gaming portals ignore the Tabletop RPG category. The current set up means that tabletop RPG wikis are either dumped into RPG (which is technically correct, but buries them in with computer games) or Tabletop (which again is technically correct, but buries them in with non RPG games).

I think that all of these games should be moved into the Tabletop RPG category (and taken out of the RPG category or the Tabletop category). I also think this category should get its own portal on the main Wikia Gaming portal.

I'm even tempted to propose that the RPG category becomes a 'root category' with computer games moved into a Computer RPG category (just to make it clear that they are not traditional RPGs.

I also think that the tabletop portal, itself, is confusing and that we should switch to using more descriptive categories (like the Board Games category) for all tabletop games that use a board.

I think there is a lot more interest in computer RPGs than any other type of gaming, but if we are going to have a Gaming Hub and not just a Computer Gaming Hub, I think that the non-computer games need to have less ambiguous signposting.

And wikis based on Tabletop RPGs are currently one of the things that are very difficult to find here. David Shepheard 22:01, 25 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Sounds like a good idea to me. I'd vote for it. -- Fandyllic  (talk &middot; contr) 1:06 PM PST 20 Mar 2009


 * It was partly because of this strangeness that rpgtalk.wikia.com ended up where it is (which is to say, relatively isolateD). When I proposed it, I was offered the opportunity to populate the Gaming wikia, but from the top down, it is categorically a mess for tabletop RPGs. PlatonicSolid 01:36, 13 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I understand your plight, but even that seems rather partial. I'm not a fan of either RPG, but if you're going to rename anything, you might as well prevent either side from complaining about something by going with 'Table RPG' and 'Video Game RPG' (keeping console systems in mind rather than just PC/online) instead of calling either one the 'master' RPG category.


 * Aside from that, there will always be wikis that don't fit into any one category. I run a sprite-oriented wiki, which is limited to neither gaming nor art, but for the sake of popular demand, and because it would be downright impractical on Wikia financially to do so, I settled for the Gaming category. One can always express their opinions, but when you act partially on those opinions you'll only end up arousing more conflict than you were trying to dissolve. - Xelrog T. Apocalypse 13:19, 25 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I think that something like the sort of thing done on a disambiuation page could solve this problem. David Shepheard 21:03, 14 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Imagine if you wanted to create a Wiki about car racing, and you discovered that the Central Wikia had reserved car racing for video games about cars. That's the current state of RPGs on Wikia. PlatonicSolid 04:51, 27 July 2009 (UTC)


 * "Tabletop" used to be called "Pen and paper". — TulipVorlax 07:23, 27 July 2009 (UTC)