Review of Groove

I'm not very good with computers. I can use word processing programs, I can surf the net, and that's it. For example, until recently, I wasn't even aware that Lotus had a program called Notes. Then I read an article in USA Today about Ray Ozzie, the man behind Notes. He had released something new, Groove. When I read what Groove did, I got interested, and I checked it out. What I found follows.

Groove allows its users to set up private "spaces" with other users. Each space allows its users to chat with other users or participate in discussions similar to the forums here on rpg.net. Each space also allows any of its users to add documents or pictures to it that the other users can see and access. Users can surf the net together or even play chess against each other. All of this, except the chatting, surfing, and chess playing, can be done online or offline. Finally, unlike Notes, Groove does not require a central computer to control things. Anyone can download Groove for free, start a space, and invite his pals (who have to get Groove also). Once someone is invited to join, that person has as much access and control as the person who started the space.

The above might not seem so special, but Groove is easily applied to campaign maintenance and game play. First, you can post campaign notes and pictures as you like. You can even add them to your space offline; they'll be transferred when you go online. Being able to keep track of campaign notes and such is a boon for my group, which tends to lose track of seemingly minor clues and "unimportant" NPCs all the time. Second, since the game is private, so you can play online without ever worrying about playing with idiots, except those you know. Third, well, you can play online even if you normally play at a tabletop. As long as your gaming group doesn't exceed twenty people, the chat feature will allow you to run a game online. I find this valuable for mini-sessions where I can deal with subplots that don't involve the whole group. I imagine that those once-a-month live action games would benefit from this. Lastly, since Groove currently supports chess, I wouldn't be surprised if it could be taught to roll dice and keep track of rules.

So Groove has a lot of uses for gamers, and an rpg specific version of it hasn't even been designed yet (though you technically savvy people may do so, but the legalities confuse me as much as the technical stuff does). Does it have any problems? The preview version can't deal with more than 20 users, 1000 files, or 50MB of stuff in one shared space so most of that campaign you've played in for 20 years is best put on a website, not in a space. It does require 40MB to start, and around 200 MB for those who plan to make use of it. Since it's still a preview, it is still having problems--nothing I've experienced, but the website does document the "issues" that Groove has. Read those before using it. Finally, as cool as Groove's decentralization is, it is not comfortable for a gamemaster who wants to feel in control. If there is a "lock-out" feature, something that labels some things as "look, but do not touch," I haven't seen it. Groove was developed for co-workers to more easily work on projects, not for gamemasters to protect their secrets.

Luckily, the above are minor problems. Groove is an excellent tool for campaign maintenance that allows for additional game play without adding additional work. If someone develops a version specifically suited for roleplaying games, I would love to see it.

You can find Groove at http://groove.net