As most of us go through our daily lives, we search for sources of continuing entertainment. Some people naturally drift towards the easily consumable entertainment on the television, while others search outlets for their creative urges in roleplaying games. The question is, which is better?
Naturally, that question is a loaded one. What exactly does "better" really mean? For my own part, I am quite fond of both television and roleplaying games. One of my favorite shows, while it lasted, was the Space Western Firefly, along with its movie sequel Serenity, both the brain child of Joss Whedon. My favorite roleplaying game is the text-based online game, FiranMUX, the brain child of Stephanie and Adam Dray. A comparison on the details might shed some light on the merits of the media.
Firefly is set in a world rich with details, history and complex relationships. Joss Whedon has clearly gone to great lengths to create the details of a world where English and Mandarin are the dominant languages in a universe where the planet Earth is left long in the past. Mal, the irascible captain, and Inara, the elegant companion, have deep connection that moves between love and hate over the course of the series, while Simon is torn between his sister's needs and hopes for his own happiness with Kaylee, the ship's engineer.
Firan has many of the same advantages, only writ even larger, with over two hundred players contributing to the story. Stephanie and Adam Dray have created a rich game world, loosely based on Greco-Roman history and mythology, including a pantheon, religious schism, evil invading hordes and epic struggles for survival alongside the everyday challenges of living. It includes such interactions as a whole generation of Princes coming of age, all vying to assume the mantle of Elianos, the great leader who united the Firan people against their enemies; a whole clan redefining itself to live up to its warrior heritage and escape past shames; and the epic, scandalous love triangle between Clan Leader Taria Oshta, leader of the savage yet honorable Ticanee clan, her husband Lord Viceroy Taleo Teranzik, caretaker of the Republic in the name of the growing Princes, and her former husband, Lord Jalil Firgalik, former Clan Leader of the mighty Gold Dragon clan, only recently retired in favor of his son by Taria.
So if the vivid worlds and entertaining story arcs are a great similarity between Firefly and FiranMUX, what are the differences? Firefly is unfortunately no longer on television, but the entire series, along with the subsequent movie, are all available on DVD. Unlike most television, that makes it available any time, as is FiranMUX, which runs day and night, and almost always has a few people available to play. However, naturally not everyone is connected at all times; this can limit what story lines a player can pursue at any given time, where any episode of a television series on DVD is always available. The obvious disadvantage to this ease of control, however, is the inherent inflexibility of the story lines. There are only twelve separate episodes of Firefly, plus Serenity. Over FiranMUX's ten full years of play, an enormous variety of plots have added to the game history, and quite a few are progressing at any given time. There is always a new twist around the corner, and sometimes not even the Drays know is coming!
And therein lies the greatest difference between a television show and a roleplaying game: the story in a television show is often developing and entertaining, but the one thing it is not is interactive. However many times anyone watches the DVDs of Firefly, the story lines are not going to change. On Firan, the story lines are ever changing, and many players have left enormous effects behind them on the game, from changes in leadership, to invasions, civil wars, executions and rises from commoners to the rarified heights of nobility. Television is a great source of entertainment and requires much less energy to enjoy. Interactive roleplaying games, on the other hand, require active involvement, but they provide surprising and new outlets for the players' creativity.
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