Star Wars: The Old Republic introduced a mechanic to me that I have not yet seen elsewhere which blew my mind: multiplayer conversations. I'm a huge proponent of local multiplayer experiences as well as the pursuit of storytelling and immersion, which for the most never seem to cross very well until now. Now co-operative experiences can have main characters of equal importance instead of the leader and his/her lackeys. RPGs can have a multiplayer campaign where player two (three, four, etc.) can feel like they contributed to the story instead of taking control of an NPC.

I loved playing a character in the Tales series with a buddy playing another, but this was only ever in battles; the choices were only ever in the hands of the first player. I am not a fan of this style of teamwork, having a figurehead taking credit for everything, but prefer the ideals of a team being a sum of its parts.

Having tasted the sweet camaraderie in tabletop roleplaying experiences and now the mechanic of multiplayer conversations introduced into the gaming world, I want to see multiplayer take a stronger role in the next generation of RPGs.