I agree with your sentiments. Imagination is at the core of all PBM experiences; however I disagree with the observation that GUIs are irrelevant today.
There is a certain type of text-based game that still thrives today: The MUD. This interactive text-based games, the precursors to modern MMORPGs, have their own niche in modern gaming. They are successful without appealing to this delusion that graphics were important. The sacrificed visuals for instant feedback, I'll touch more on this tradeoff in a moment. So, text-based games can thrive in todays modern world.
On the other hand, I want to point out several successful PBM games which use a GUI.
Eressea - An old Atlantis offshoot that was wildly popular in Germany. They use the Magellan player client.
Norberg Game's Fate of a Nation - One of our own here on this forum. I really like FoaN's order creator, for while it certainly isn't beautiful, it is elegant and stays true to the text medium. The majority of the interface is text, with the only non-text element being the map. Moreover, the text is organized into a tree structure, making it easier to find. In fact, you'll notice on common thing about all these GUIs: they all utilize a tree structure to present text information.
VGA Planets.nu - Here we have a complete remake of an old PBM game using modern web technologies. Personally, I think the UI is beautiful. I don't know if it is or will be successful, but I think it has a good chance -- as with all the PBMs I'm listing -- of succeeding.
Email Games - All of EMGs games have a simple order creator and turn viewer. I haven't played these games, but I've noticed activity on this site over the past couple years, so I think it is safe to assume it is working for them.
Rolling Thunder's Supernova:ROTE - This beast of a game uses a GUI for creating orders, but not viewing turns. Players have developed massive spreadsheets to cope with all data rich environment of the game. A joke among players is that the name of the game is Supernova: Spreadsheets in Space.
Phoenix: Beyond a Stellar Empire - This classic PBM has gone completely digital. Check out the Nexus Tour to get a glimpse of their web based GUI.
I suspect (this is only a conjecture) that there are more PBMs active today which make available to players a GUI of some sort, than those that lack any GUI component.
Moreover, it is not uncommon (as I've learned from reading forums and usenet posts) for players to create their own information management systems, usually spreadsheets. From a personal perspective, I stopped playing Supernova, not for lack of imagination or fun factor, but from information overload. There was too much data, and too much pressure to 'get it right' on the first try (after all I was spending $20+ a month on the game).
Now I want to address this statement:
First, I am not of the Old Guard, rather I am a member of the new generation of gamers who grew up with video games. To us a 'game' is synonymous with 'video game.' It is my peers and those younger than me who make up the "potential user base numbering in the millions." PBMs lack two fundamental features that we associate with 'games': 1. instant feedback 2. a graphical component. MUDs lack a GUI, but offer instant feedback. PBMs do neither. From our perspective if it doesn't have those, it isn't a game (even board games have limited visuals), and as soon as we realize that we stop listening and move on. You cannot convince us to come and stay in sufficiently large numbers if you lack both of those features. Admittedly, this is an unfortunate flaw of my generation, but it isn't going to change any time soon.
Grimfinger is correct. PBM didn't decline, because of the lack of a GUI. It declined because it failed to attract new players. 10 or 15 years ago modern gamers didn't have this primal need for visuals, and that is when they should have been given the opium of PBM. However, today, PBM will continue to decline if it doesn't attract new players, and it cannot attract new players unless it (1) acquires a GUI, or (2) sacrifices depth and imagination for instant feedback. Which is more important?
The core of PBM play is not the pen and paper or the envelope. It is your imagination and the accompanying feeling of anticipation in between turns. These are powerful, powerful fun factors, that modern gamers can still be hooked by. Lets not alienate them completely.
There is a certain type of text-based game that still thrives today: The MUD. This interactive text-based games, the precursors to modern MMORPGs, have their own niche in modern gaming. They are successful without appealing to this delusion that graphics were important. The sacrificed visuals for instant feedback, I'll touch more on this tradeoff in a moment. So, text-based games can thrive in todays modern world.
On the other hand, I want to point out several successful PBM games which use a GUI.
Eressea - An old Atlantis offshoot that was wildly popular in Germany. They use the Magellan player client.
Norberg Game's Fate of a Nation - One of our own here on this forum. I really like FoaN's order creator, for while it certainly isn't beautiful, it is elegant and stays true to the text medium. The majority of the interface is text, with the only non-text element being the map. Moreover, the text is organized into a tree structure, making it easier to find. In fact, you'll notice on common thing about all these GUIs: they all utilize a tree structure to present text information.
VGA Planets.nu - Here we have a complete remake of an old PBM game using modern web technologies. Personally, I think the UI is beautiful. I don't know if it is or will be successful, but I think it has a good chance -- as with all the PBMs I'm listing -- of succeeding.
Email Games - All of EMGs games have a simple order creator and turn viewer. I haven't played these games, but I've noticed activity on this site over the past couple years, so I think it is safe to assume it is working for them.
Rolling Thunder's Supernova:ROTE - This beast of a game uses a GUI for creating orders, but not viewing turns. Players have developed massive spreadsheets to cope with all data rich environment of the game. A joke among players is that the name of the game is Supernova: Spreadsheets in Space.
Phoenix: Beyond a Stellar Empire - This classic PBM has gone completely digital. Check out the Nexus Tour to get a glimpse of their web based GUI.
I suspect (this is only a conjecture) that there are more PBMs active today which make available to players a GUI of some sort, than those that lack any GUI component.
Moreover, it is not uncommon (as I've learned from reading forums and usenet posts) for players to create their own information management systems, usually spreadsheets. From a personal perspective, I stopped playing Supernova, not for lack of imagination or fun factor, but from information overload. There was too much data, and too much pressure to 'get it right' on the first try (after all I was spending $20+ a month on the game).
Now I want to address this statement:
Quote:Rather than bringing tried, tested, and proven entertainment to an Internet-empowered potential user base numbering in the millions, PBM's Old Guard opted to take advantage of technology to alter their core entertainment products.
First, I am not of the Old Guard, rather I am a member of the new generation of gamers who grew up with video games. To us a 'game' is synonymous with 'video game.' It is my peers and those younger than me who make up the "potential user base numbering in the millions." PBMs lack two fundamental features that we associate with 'games': 1. instant feedback 2. a graphical component. MUDs lack a GUI, but offer instant feedback. PBMs do neither. From our perspective if it doesn't have those, it isn't a game (even board games have limited visuals), and as soon as we realize that we stop listening and move on. You cannot convince us to come and stay in sufficiently large numbers if you lack both of those features. Admittedly, this is an unfortunate flaw of my generation, but it isn't going to change any time soon.
Grimfinger is correct. PBM didn't decline, because of the lack of a GUI. It declined because it failed to attract new players. 10 or 15 years ago modern gamers didn't have this primal need for visuals, and that is when they should have been given the opium of PBM. However, today, PBM will continue to decline if it doesn't attract new players, and it cannot attract new players unless it (1) acquires a GUI, or (2) sacrifices depth and imagination for instant feedback. Which is more important?
The core of PBM play is not the pen and paper or the envelope. It is your imagination and the accompanying feeling of anticipation in between turns. These are powerful, powerful fun factors, that modern gamers can still be hooked by. Lets not alienate them completely.