Introducing: VTT

In this inaugural post, I attempt to resuscitate this blog and embark on a new weekly feature. VTT – Video to Table – is focused on taking elements of video games and discussing them around tabletop gaming.

I could think of no better game to feature than the DayZ mod for Arma II. This mod functions very much like a standard tabletop RPG – there is an open world, perma-death, plenty of risk versus reward scenarios and story elements are crafted through a player’s actions.


Some of the aspects of DayZ that stuck out to me:

• ·         Other PCs
• ·         Signs of life
• ·         Tension
• ·         Environment

The game is an online multiplayer shooter played through dedicated servers, so there are other players about – sometimes a lot, sometimes a few. For those that might not know, the world does not have any restrictions on player versus player combat – anyone could attempt to kill you. Every character also carries around a backpack that can be opened and rummaged through, so that ‘buddy’ you just met or someone that is stealthy enough could steal everything in your pack. (Though, you can still carry other items on your body that are not accessible to them. Unless they just shoot you in the back.) All of this plays into the tension of the mod as you constantly keep watch for any players that might be around knowing that, if they spot you first, you could be killed very quickly.

Having other PCs around also creates signs of life in the setting. Walk up to a barn and you might find dead zombies lying near the entrance.  Run through a forest and you might come upon a tent or a campfire in the middle of nowhere. Crawl through a city and you might spot a corner littered with the corpses of other PCs (which may or may not be looted). Each of those examples has a story attached – one that you won’t read or hear – that you can piece together through observation and imagination.

Sounds are another method of introducing other PCs into the setting while adding tension. Overhearing conversations or movement through a wall or door. Hearing the crack of a gun in the distance (or not so distant) and the accompanying roar of a zombie herd that’s attracted to the noise – the general sounds of combat letting you know that you’re not alone.

All of this is easily used in tabletop gaming (and likely has been used countless times, though I haven’t seen too much of it lately) to generate tension, but these aren’t the only ways.

Other common systems in DayZ that many tabletop RPGs have are hunger, thirst, temperature and injury.  When you start out in the mod you have next to nothing -- just a flashlight, one bandage and one painkiller. No food, water or weapons. It’s kind of like a more hardcore version of DCC’s character funnel. What this does mean is that you will have to start scavenging immediately, as your hunger and thirst will only last an hour or two before starting to eat away at your health.  I’ve known most tabletop RPGs to feature a hunger and thirst option though it’s usually pretty uneventful or overlooked. In DayZ you have an icon to let you know how hungry or thirsty you are – going from green to blinking red – that is a constant reminder of your survivor’s condition. Things gradually get worse before your eyes. Not having food or drink can a worsening condition creates a lot of tension and forces the player to take action – often making extremely risky decisions they never would otherwise.

Those risky decisions tend to end with injury – major loss of blood, bleeding out, broken bones, lots of pain, unconsciousness or death. For most of these ailments there are solutions, though some won’t be found very often outside of the abandoned hospitals and a couple require a second person to administer them. All of these boil down to conditions on the characters that will affect how their players view their surroundings and how they interact with them. A broken bone (just leg bones in the mod, right now) means the character will only be able to crawl. Falling unconscious usually occurs when your blood level (think hit points) drops below certain amounts (under 9000 and any zombie hit could trigger it, under 3000 and it could happen at any time) and can easily lead to death. The lower the blood count the harder it is to see and hear – the world gradually becomes grayscale and blurry, with a stronger blur effect happening in rhythm with your heartbeat (as well as a loud heartbeat noise). At that point, you need a partner with a blood bag to get you back on your feet quickly.

Some of those conditions might be a bit difficult to replicate as effectively in a tabletop setting.  Environments, however, shouldn’t be.

Nighttime is a dark time in DayZ. Without a light source available you will not be able to see anything but the stars above you – and even that can be difficult if it’s cloudy. Darkness is something used in tabletop gaming already and has been since forever, but the effect in DayZ is quite different – because of sound. While you can’t see anything you can hear everything around you – the sounds of wildlife, the creek of metal fences, the gurgle and trudge of zombies. They may not guide you or help you move around but they do provide more tension. (As if you didn’t have enough already!) I could see this being used in a tabletop encounter – having a sound file playing and the players trying to navigate by it, unable to see for some reason.

So, that’s it for now. Might be more of an overview than the discussion I wanted, but it works.