What is needed to truly integrate the computer into Group Role-Playing? This is an idea that has been discussed for years at conventions among notable writers and game designers, and written about in many articles and letters to the industry's magazines. What is the answer? Well, the computer role playing games on the market today do the opposite, they integrate Role Playing into the computer. And Virtual Reality? That will indeed be the ultimate role playing experience, but what's on the market now that Can accomplish this role playing "nirvana"?

Goldtree Enterprises has released a new product for the Game Master, named KINGSPOINT ™ that is actually two products in one: a full featured computer application for the game master, and a fully developed fantasy city. KINGSPOINT ™ comes with the software, a users guide, technical support, over 30 architectural quality maps, and 5 scale conversion maps, all contained in a functional 3-ring binder system.

The party's adventure and interactions with others are all represented to the Game Master by a dynamic computer display. Character and building graphics can be attached to the representative data screen, and over 30 maps are graphically displayed to assist in navigating the party, but the product's main emphasis are a) data and information management (KINCSPOINT ™ the software) and, b) stimulating creativity (Kingspoint the city).

The software performs the function of realistically modeling the City of Kingspoint and its inhabitants, while placing the Game Master at the center of control. This is a new approach to Role Playing in that it doesn't attempt to replace the Game Master with the computer, but offers to him and his players a full fantasy environment that prompts and stimulates the imagination while eliminating the overwhelming chores of record keeping and fact retrieval.

The appearance of characters and city inhabitants, random occurrences, and consequently the continuous development of the city, is influenced by such real-life factors as the time of day, weather conditions, area of the city, type of establishment, a characters type and appearance, his past history, etc. The city has also been designed using street addresses, districts, and a master plan that incorporates zoning considerations that are recognized by the software. Likewise, the population of Kingspoint and her characters follow real life population trends that continue to evolve as the players interact with their environment (or as the Game Master alters the environment).

The power behind Role Playing is that it uses the player's imagination to bring fantasy onto a level playing field with real life, and the more organized and true to life the Game Master is, the more exhilarating the experience. KINGSPOINT ™ has accomplished this with real-life simulations and information management, allowing the Game Master to conduct a faster paced, more exciting game.

The Fantasy City

The developed City of Kingspoint contains so much information that if it were printed in its entirety, it would fill a modern phone book. The city contains about 500 detailed buildings with such fields of information as a quality rating, population control for each location, and a place to list Managers and Employees as well as an unlimited Memo Field for each Location. There are also thousands of empty locations, all accessible to the Game Master, and each with the same functions and fields as a detailed building.

In addition to the 150,000 random inhabitants, there are also 500 detailed characters that populate the City of Kingspoint, each with an array of control features. For example, every character has his Information Sheet, or Cover Sheet. This first sheet allows the Game Master to control the outward appearances of a character. This Cover Sheet allows the GM to disguise a character or print out a sheet to cover the printed stat sheet. The Stat sheet is customizable and allows the GM to insert a customized template for his game system. There is also an unlimited Memo for character history, also with a customized template.

Characters each have an inventory system that lists the name of the item, owner, location, and an unlimited Memo Field to describe the item. This is tied together in the Main Screen with all inventory in the city. There is also a full menu of print options, and the graphic file display capability for each character.

The developed city also includes the City History of Kingspoint, Histories of the six major districts of the city, Event Calendars, the RPG libraries and City Information directory, all fully customizable by the Game Master. There are also included two complete adventure scenarios to be played in Kinspoint.

The printed city supplies such information as a fully developed legal system, sewer descriptions, an illegal guild system that allows the rapid assembly of any type of illegal guild, and the guard operations for the whole city.

Putting the computer to work on finding and accessing such information on the spur of the moment is quick and efficient, making it feasible to host a "Free Form" role playing session through a major city.

The Software Program

The advanced techniques used in this software program has enabled such an ambitious project as KINGSPOINT ™ to be possible. Imagine your players entering a fantasy city of the same size as KINGSPOINT ™ without a computer and asking for the nearest inn.

"Okay!" you say as you thump down a three inch thick book, "Let me just look up your location, cross reference that in the index, G..H..I.. Okay here it is. There is an Inn just around the corner named the Paper Cut Inn."

"Sounds boring," the players moan, "What's in that building?"

"Let's see," you flip around to find building number 342. "Okay, that's a cobbler."

"Booooring"

"Now where were we? Okay an inn...", you continue.

"Who's on the street?" one of the players still paying attention to the game interrupts.

"I don't know," you hesitate, distracted, "people I guess."

And so it goes throughout the night.

In Kingspoint, you would simply ask the computer and know in seconds the answer to, "Where's the nearest inn?" Likewise, all buildings in the immediate area can be listed, or only those in sight of the party.

The answer to who is on the street is constantly present. Every location has a dynamically rotating list of notable street types and each can be interacted with and randomly generated. You would simply highlight a person on the street and the computer would generate a character complete with dress, weapons, and initial reactions.

Character/Information Management Essential

A major focus from the beginning of the development of KINGSPOINT ™ has always been character management. The task of trying to record and track a living creature is enormous. To have a character travel through a city, just for one day, is to generate many encounters and exchanges that are forever lost in traditional role playing. The time wasted in rewriting character sheets, searching through hand written notes, and disputing simple facts stems from inadequate character/information management.

When your gaming session reconvenes, no matter how much time has elapsed, the KINGSPOINT ™ program starts from where you have left off. When you turn on the computer, weather, life on the streets, and current player position is all reinstated. You can very quickly review the players recorded movements and be reminded of any other pertinent information from the last session.

"We go to the Dancing Imp Inn," a player states, "we are thirsty!"

The Game Master asks very concerned, after having reviewed the GM Journal, "Are you sure you do that?"

The player knows of such GM tricks, asking a question in a very concerned tone, and chooses to ignore it.

"Yes, and we announce ourselves very loudly when we enter."

"OK, the innkeeper comes and looks closely at you, it seems that he looks angry as he runs to the door. You hear the cry 'Guards, Guards' from the street. What do you do?"

The players protest, some panic, others ready their weapons. A cooler head prevails among the players, "Why is he calling the guards on us?"

"Gee, I thought you would never ask. It seems that three months ago you set his inn on fire and ran off his business."

"That was three months in game time, but we haven't played in over six months. We forgot."

"OK, so next time you will read the encounter reports I handed out at the beginning of the evening, but this time the innkeeper just asks you to leave after paying for the damages."

"We pay, and never come here again."

"Good, because as you leave a dark and manacing sorcerer appears before you and says..." and the party is led into an adventure through the city of Kingspoint where they learn to hide at night and shun the daylight as the inhabitants of the city, and the guardsmen, may recognize them.

With KINGSPOINT ™ , a character is handled with a very high degree of organization and flexibility that assumes a character is going to be around a long time. It is an obvious fact that a few sheets of paper, or unattached Memo Fields, won't do the trick of handling quick and efficient character tracking and long term adventure recording. In KINGSPOINT ™ each character has several areas to store, sort, and search for information. The Player's sheet provides a Graphic File Display function that, although will display your own graphic files, is designed to display the soon to be released graphic libraries of Character Types from Goldtree.

One of the most powerful features of the program is the Game Master's Journal Entry System. As mentioned above, you may keep track of character movement through the city. This GM Journal is not just a bunch of empty Memo fields, but a real system designed to handle an unlimited number of entries on as many characters as needed. The Game Master is able to quickly record all statistical information about a situation, such as the time, date, place, area, etc... with a keystroke, not interrupting the flow of play. The GM need only define an identifying header of the event and then, if need be, fill in an attached Memo field that is unlimited in size to describe the event further. This attached Memo field will have a template, either a default sample or one as defined by the Game Master, and full access to the "Hot Keys" that reduce the typing of most standard and customized information to a single keystroke. Finally, the computer keeps track of the characters involved and their outlook towards the party. If ever anyone previously encountered is encountered in the future, the Game Master is instantly reminded.

In addition to the automatic reminder of previous encounters, this program also allows he Game Master to manipulate the rate and severity of Random Occurrences. The computer will read the screen of the computer every so often and determine where the players are, what the time is, who is present, and consider other factors of the current adventuring situation as it assembles an appropriate occurrence to suggest to the Game Master.

Among the other features of the program are an on-line dice roller, self generating weather system, customizable templates for character sheets and other memo fields, editing hot keys, time control features, and more.

KINGSPOINT ™ is a radical departure from what is currently out on the market for role players so we must explain:

This computer software program is NOT a graphic game, but is a super utility that allows the display of graphic files of building facades and floor plans, maps, and characters.

This program is NOT a simple utility that only rolls dice, but is a super utility that is designed to function as a command and control center for the Game Master during play.

This program is NOT another Role playing system, but a fantasy environment that can be customized to any setting or rules system.

Although this product can be edited, customized, and filled in, it is by no means empty for it is also a fully developed fantasy city that holds over 500 detailed characters, 500 detailed locations, 1,000's of computer generated encounters, and more.

GOLDTREE is a firm that specializes in database design and product development. The firm is based in Metairie, Louisiana. During the last few years, GOLDTREE has shifted its emphasis to gaming where there is a great need for flexible and useful software applications for the development, creation, and organizing of entire worlds and enormous dungeons. Future role playing products includes upgrades, published modules, graphic libraries for the Kingspoint program, fiction publishing, and more.

Goldtree can be reached at:

GOLDTREE ENTERPRISES
671 Rosa Avenue, Suite 200
Metairie, Louisiana 70005
(504) 833 - 7678