Anders Tychsen has some interesting ideas on how to leverage elements of tabletop RPGs in order to make their digital cousins more compelling (and thus keeping players enthralled for longer). Tychsen points to issues of integration — something many tabletop games are quite strong on, but an area that has seen less work in creating console or PC RPGs — as an area that could use some work, and create more positive gaming experiences:

Tabletop RPGs have for the past 30 years created personalized story-based gaming experiences for players worldwide. Given their likeness with digital RPGs, it would seem there are some opportunities for leveraging these experiences.

Character generation systems can provide sets of cues for the game engine to react to and direct content after, provides a reasonably simple method for integrating soft personality components in a programming environment, is theoretically simple to design and integrate, and can be scaled to accommodate different levels of intricacy and integration.

A personality system such as that observed in many tabletop RPGs has the further advantage that it is modular, it can be designed to change appearance and stats of characters or it can be strictly parametric.

It's an interesting take on what could be done to current games (without too much work) to make them more interesting (and personal) experiences.

Innovations In Character: Personalizing RPGs, Retaining Players [Gamasutra]

Being inspired by concepts is not just a good idea. When your skill reaches a high enough level, it becomes a state of mind. Start by analyzing games in similar genres for good ideas. Dissect those ideas and learn from them. Then jump to similar games in different genres. Pen and paper role playing games and board games are a great next step.

A true epic-level master of concept-yoinking like Shigeru Miyamoto can take gameplay features from abstract activities like gardening. Pay attention to everything you see, from movies to conversations with friends to patterns in the ceiling tiles. Where do designers get the inspiration for new games? It's all thievery.

OK, I'm not sure it's fair to say it's all thievery (it sounds so bad!), but certainly there's a healthy dose of borrowing and reinterpretation. Anyways, even if you're not a tabletop nerd, it's worth a read through - there are some interesting ideas contained within.

The Adventurer's Guide to Thievery [Gamasutra]

1d6 of New Dungeons and Dragons Apps! [Maximum PC]

One odd phenomenon I did notice was the prevalence of kilts among many of the male members of the convention, especially the workers who were all sporting PAX t-shirts reading "Enforcer" on the back. I stopped the guy here at the left and snapped a picture and he kindly filled me in on the details concerning this odd but popular practice. Apparently, this sort of thing is quite common amongst Table Top Gamers in particular and the company that makes them, Utilikilts, is based right here in Seattle. Of course, I had to ask the inevitable question. "Are you going commando under there?" (you can always count on me to go for the tough questions) His reply, "No, I really don't think that's necessary." Ah Table Top Gamers, such strange customs you have...