Companion - A Software Toolkit for Digitally Aided Pen-and-Paper Tabletop Roleplaying

Abstract

We present Companion, a software tool tailored towards improving and digitally supporting the pen-and-paper tabletop role-playing experience. Pen-and-paper role-playing games (P&P RPG) are a concept known since the early 1970s. Since then, the genre has attracted a massive community of players while branching out into several genres and P&P RPG systems to choose from. Due to the highly interactive and dynamic nature of the game, a participants individual impact on narrative and interactive aspects of the game is extremely high. The diversity of scenarios within this context unfold a variety of players needs, as well as factors limiting and enhancing game-play. Companion offers an audio management workspace for creation and playback of soundscapes based on visual layouting. It supports interactive image presentation and map exploration which can incorporate input from any device providing TUIO tracking data. Additionally, a mobile app was developed to be used as a remote control for media activation on the desktop host.