If you’re a fan of Dungeons & Dragons or other pen-and-paper role playing games, a new offering from kLoOge Inc. may interest you. The company has announced the release of kLoOge.Werks, billed as “The Digital Gaming Table.” The service purports to offer a complete online role-playing system for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X users. Unlike other online RPGs that have popped up in recent years, this isn’t a fixed game with a library of graphics that takes place in a persistent work — this is an actual online system for playing the same pen-and-paper, dice-driven games that you may have grown up with.
kLoOge.Werks is game system neutral, according to chief programmer Keith Williams. “… it doesn’t restrict players or game masters to any specific rules. It was designed as a tool to help people play through a computer, not to tell them how to play. I designed Werks to emulate traditional ‘table top’ game play by giving the GM the tools he or she needs to run their campaign.”
The software is tooled in Java, which makes it cross-platform compatible. Image files are stored in GIF or JPEG format, and all text files are plain ASCII text or HTML. This way, said the developers, the players and gamemasters have the ability to import their own images for characters, character sheets, adventure files, custom maps, notes, and charts. The software implements a dice roller which all can see. Other services include chatting, individual message transfer, measuring tools and combat tracking.
Co-founder David Machala said that Werks currently supports 2nd and 3rd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules, but it could conceivably be used for any turn-based role playing game system. “In the near future, we plan to have plug-ins to support other gaming systems. This will allow for correct nomenclature, combat tracking, and a different look within different games.”
Prices for the kLoOge.Werks varies on what you’re looking for — a full master and client license costs US$40; the master costs $30, and the client costs $15. An example campaign and help documentation are available for free. For more details, visit the kLoOge Web site.
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