D&D 5E What type of D&D Videogame do you want?

[flametitan]

I've been on a big RTS kick, so I'd love for a game somewhere between WarCraft 3 and Dragonshard (except perhaps with a better art direction).

Obviously not what people think when they hear D&D video game, but I think it'd be neat.

 

[Quickleaf]

I'm in the minority in that I voted third person shooter. The Witcher 2 and 3 were extraordinarily well crafted RPGs, and made me really appreciate that style of storytelling.

While I adore Planescape Torment, it was much harder for me to get into Baldur's Gate and I found the positive reviews of Pillars of Eternity to be a bit too much hype for my tastes. I thought my tastes had shifted, but then I re-played Planescape Torment a little bit and still absolutely love it – the ambience & story writing are just that good – it totally hooked me in a way Baldur's Gate and Pillars of Eternity failed to do.

Then again, I can count on one hand the number of video games I've played in the past 5+ years...Witcher 2, Witcher 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Pillars of Eternity (stopped 1/3rd through because I got bored of it), and Planescape: Torment. So I'm no connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[SkidAce]

4) A MOBA with every iconic or semi-iconic character in D&D history. How much will you pay for the White Robe Raistlin or Sexy Simbul skin?

Mmmmmmmmmmmm....

 

[Wiseblood]

I am the first to pick First Person Shooter. Far Cry Primal with dragons and magic. BG and BG2ToB were great and I wouldn't cry if they did that, but my dinner table does turn-based play the way I like it. Dice so real you can practically reach out and touch them.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I think the best replication of the D&D experience was the Temple of Elemental Evil game. The game was glitchy and buggy as hell, but once it was patched, it played really well. And there were many community mods that updated rules and added all classes. It was really quite good and felt the most like D&D of any game I've played.

If they could make that a multiplayer experience and then maybe combine some DM type elements like the ill-fated Legends of the Sword Coast or Neverwinter Nights, that would probably be ideal.

But I suppose people could just play actual D&D on Fantasy Grounds or Roll20 or whatever at that point.

So maybe the question is what do we want out of a D&D video game? Is it more important that it appeal to those of us who want to play D&D when the group can't get together? A solo focused game that feels like D&D? That's what Temple of Elemental Evil was.

If it's more about multiplayer or real time action with RPG elements, then a Diablo style game is likely the best bet. But then, do we really need another game like that?

 

[Ratskinner]

So I've read a few threads about various problems with creating a good, modern D&D videogame, and IMHO, one of the major issues is that many people have differing ideas as to the type of game they want.

See, here's the thing. D&D does not necessarily lend itself to videogames in an easily translatable way. Many of the aspects of D&D over the years have been borrowed and placed into other videogames- this goes back to games like Wizardry and Bard's Tale, and continues today with games like Diablo. But other than licensing the awesome names and classes of D&D, I am not entirely sure that the mechanics of D&D (without alteration) necessarily make the best D&D videogame.

More importantly, I see a difference in opinion as to what the best type of game would be. So I thought I'd put a poll up to gauge community sentiment.

First ground rule- no MMORPGs (like World of Warcraft). This is just thinking about a D&D videogame that can either be played solo, or perhaps with a small group of friends (either couch co-op or on-line). Not a giant world with a bunch of players that are unknown to each other.

So, here are my thoughts-


1. First person shooter. Generic term for the first-person perspective.

2. Third person shooter. Generic term for being able to see your character (like Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Witcher 3 and most games nowadays).

3. Isometric/Top Down, real time. Diablo-style (isometric/axonometric view).

4. Isometric/Top Down, Turn based.

5. Text. (ZORK!)

6. Other?

So, what do you think? What is the best way to display the D&D experience in a videogame?

I keep thinking there's room for a more "picture text" adventure. That is, an interactive fiction interface with graphic on the side. You could even have the graphic modified by the game state. I've never really liked the twitchy movements of most dnd vid games.


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[MonsterEnvy]

I would have just said First Person game, or Third Person game. Rather then confuse everyone that reads and votes on the poll first. Before you state you were trying to be more broad.

 

[CapnZapp]

What type of D&D Videogame do you want?

A good one...?

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[Imaculata]

I would have just said First Person game, or Third Person game. Rather then confuse everyone that reads and votes on the poll first. Before you state you were trying to be more broad.

Thats why I voted "other". I don't think D&D should be a shooter. Third person would be fine though.

 

[Yama Dai O]

So, what do you think? What is the best way to display the D&D experience in a videogame?

Quoting the OP's last line as that skips the whole "but what is a D&D videogame" issue; the question is how to get close to the (enjoyable aspects of the) tabletop in-game experience.

What I would like to see is visually like a non-parody version of Guild of Dungeoneering -

- to explore a fairly large sandbox environment that includes regions similar to Keep on the Borderlands, a number of highly-detailed towns and some sort of small-scale map wilderness exploration mode. Portrait sketches that pop up (maybe animated) and a dialogue system to interact with NPCs. Concessions in environment design so that you can get around obstacles in multiple and creative ways (using tools, monsters or objects found nearby, certain spells). A ruleset that is fairly close to tabletop 5e D&D. Recruitable companions like in Baldur's Gate, DA Origins and so many other games. Oh, and a toolbox so that you can create your own world and some mechanism to share it with other players.