Tabletop Gaming with Tabletop Computers

Have you ever thought to yourself “Man, I would love it if I could take my love of Dungeons and Dragons and touchscreen computers and merge them together”? Alright, so maybe you haven't thought about that. Yet, a group of gamers are attempting to take tabletop gaming to another level via some new technology.

Meet Surfacescapes: a group at Carnegie Mellon University. The object of the group, as stated on their website, is to integrate tabletop gaming, such as Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), with Microsoft’s Surface Table, a table with a touch-screen computer for a tabletop.

While hardcore fans of tabletop gaming may scoff at the idea of using computers to play a game that has been primarily played via paper, dice, and few books, the work of SurfaceScapes may provide another fun alternative to the world of tabletop gaming for those wanting to streamline and enhance the experience.

The group has a demo video on their website that shows a simple fight between two player controlled characters and a single demon; I was impressed with this simple demonstration and would relish the chance to interact with software firsthand. SurfaceScapes is hoping to program several features in the near future, such as tracking miniatures on the table and providing sounds and effects. I would love the chance to play D&D using Surfacescapes' software with my old wizard character. Fire-ball and incinerating kobolds animation, anyone?

Even if Surfacescapes were to make a fully functional software for tabletop gaming, not many players of will be able to use it without first spending more than ten grand to get the Surface Table. There is always a catch!