torus wrote:Unlike a lot of TV and movie fans, computer gamers are already in the gaming mindset, and a tabletop RPG is in some ways a natural extension of the gaming experience.
I can't say that I entirely agree. While superficially similar ("games") I think computer games and table-top RPGs are fundamentally different experiences. One is very much a solo affair, with the player almost always in the spotlight ("I save the world"), while the other is a social experience that involves (usually) cooperation and sharing the spotlight.
torus wrote:I don't play computer games but the ones I am aware of that seem natural candidates are Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Mass Effect, Halo, Diablo, Half-Life... But I know it has been done, e.g. Warcraft, so perhaps it isn't as successful as I assume.
I do agree that games for these would be great, and I know that in some cases they do exist.
Fallout
almost had a d20 table-top version but the IP circus between Interplay and Bethesda apparently killed it before publication. It got released later with the IP-related stuff cut out in a game called Exodus RPG but if you look at the cover art it's clearly meant to be Fallout. Don't own it so I can't speak to its quality. I don't think it did well as the publisher seems to have gone belly up.
I'm pretty sure a Diablo tabletop version for d&d was published as well, though I don't recall the details.
Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect seem pretty much made for table-top versions, and I agree it's a pity nobody took a chance on them yet. I guess that with Bethesda working on their Elder Scrolls MMO and EA/Bioware thinking about a Mass Effect movie, they don't want to do anything to complicate the licensing.