So riddle me this, MK. I also used to play Battletech, Gamma World, Car Wars and Star Frontiers - retired undefeated from Battletech and Car Wars, in fact. However, the allure of Battletech and Car Wars pretty much went away the minute the computers became fast enough to calculate the ballistics for you. I think this is why FASA and SJG introduced Mechwarrior and GURPS respectively - the "role play" aspect of gaming was most assuredly lacking in the computer games of the time (Think "Ultima IV": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_IV:_Quest_of_the_Avatar). That shit all ended with Ultima Online. So what, exactly, is the allure of table-top gaming at this point? What buzz are you getting out of that that you aren't getting out of, say, Warcraft? 'cuz I gotta say - the first time I saw a Mechwarrior Arcade, I damn near popped a boner... and I hadn't played Battletech in like 8 years at that point. (Somewhere I still have these... They're buried in my dad's house. Although I did buy some off eBay, used a blueprint company to scan them, and then sold them back on eBay for a profit, so I have them as full-res TIFFs... http://www.amazon.com/Battletech-Technical-Blueprints-Battle...)
Well, D&D as it stands (4th Edition), is actually very MMO inspired, and it pretty much divided the community. Personally, I think 4E D&D is shit. Totally unimaginative shit. In my case, we most often played a home-brewed version of D&D. We had a very talented DM, and everyone at our table was intelligent and creative. Unlike MMOs, D&D is genuinely a very social game, and it is one with few boundaries. First off, in an MMO, you don't create the world, you just play in it. You can't create completely novel items, personalities, political factions, etc... Our games ran into long campaigns, with intricate stories and histories that build more and more life into the game each time you play. It wasn't so much about killing monsters and gaining levels, as it was developing a living story. Of course, it included combat and death, but also lots of humor, intrigue, and just fucking around. Really just solid good times with good friends about the table. We never did play much Battletech, Car Wars, etc. Some, but not too much. I'd agree that with those games, you might as well just have a LAN party.
1) I've never played WoW. I played Warcraft when it came out, because I got the first campaign as a free demo when I bought a soundcard, and noticed that 16 hours of my life vanished without a trace. 2) All the DMs where I grew up sucked. So I see your arguments. Thanks for the clarification.
You can't have that in a videogame, because you're restricted to the game design. In table-top, the restriction is the DMs patience, imagination and ability to think on his feet. I don't mean that one is better than the other. I started playing City of Heroes and was having a lot of fun. Those are my two cents. PS: your comment about Mechwarrior Arcade made me LOL. I was reminded of this: http://youtu.be/8FpigqfcvlM?t=5m30s.