D&D 5E So Why Can't 5E Get a Video Game?

[Shasarak]

Yeah I did not care about PF Online, might keep an eye on this one.

From what I hear coming out of Paizo Con, PF Online may actually have been stabilised with new content being released.

I found the Pillars of Eternity to be OK, my only real problem was that they used their own class system which just was not as good as the normal DnD system.

 

[Argyle King]

I think a D&D (or general fantasy game if another company wants to give it a shot) in the vein of XCom would be cool.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 were also pretty close. They had a few changes to make the ruleset work as a PC game but on the whole they were very much like 3e.

3.5 translated pretty well into video game form.

Turn based is a lot less popular than it used to be, though.

I'd settle for pausable real time, though, like the dragon age games.

When you play a football or hockey game, you kinda want it to emulate the rules of hockey and not just make up a brand new game that uses familiar names.

"Rules" in hockey means something very different from "Rules" in dnd. In dnd, the rules are the mechanics by which the game is played. This includes parameters and restrictions, but also includes the literal vehicle by which you engage in a given action.


In dnd, the rules are how you move across the ice, take shots on goal, defend the goal, pass the puck, etc, keep from falling, as well as the restrictions and parameters under which you are "allowed" to do those things without consequence.


The hockey game equivelent of wanting the dnd rules directly translated would be wanting a hockey game in which you have to literally play hockey. Physically. With your body. So, holodeck game? Sure, I'm all for it. But I don't expect it in a modern video game.


And what's more, I don't expect the nintendo switch to come out with a hockey game that requires me to have actually physical hockey playing skills in order to accurately shoot the puck, nor would I expect that such a game would be any good whatsoever, as a video game.

 

[Jester David]

"Rules" in hockey means something very different from "Rules" in dnd. In dnd, the rules are the mechanics by which the game is played. This includes parameters and restrictions, but also includes the literal vehicle by which you engage in a given action.

In dnd, the rules are how you move across the ice, take shots on goal, defend the goal, pass the puck, etc, keep from falling, as well as the restrictions and parameters under which you are "allowed" to do those things without consequence.

The hockey game equivelent of wanting the dnd rules directly translated would be wanting a hockey game in which you have to literally play hockey. Physically. With your body. So, holodeck game? Sure, I'm all for it. But I don't expect it in a modern video game.

Not really, no.
There are hockey video games. There are a whole industry of sports video games, and none of them actually require movement.
But unless it's going for a wacky Mario Strikers vibe, they strive for authenticity and a "real" experience. So points are scored the same way, the same plays are used, the same positions are used.

There are a lot of rules in sports like hockey. Where you can hit someone with a stick, where you can be to score a goal, what qualifies as a shot on net, high sticking, icing, where the puck drops, penalty shots, etc.
A hockey game that ignores all the basic rules and has people taking penalty shots from the wrong place and changes the shape of the rink or number of players on a team is going to raise eyebrows.
And that's just the straight rules. When they make a hockey video game, they don't give the Center the ability to teleport. Or let the puck ricochet like a bouncy ball. The slapshot doesn't set things on fire. The Defence players don't have the power to create phantasmal walls to block shots.

I don't expect a D&D video game to follow all of the rules and math of D&D (but several have in the past, including all the best ones). But it shouldn't feel like Generic Fantasy: Origins with a beholder.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Not really, no.
There are hockey video games. There are a whole industry of sports video games, and none of them actually require movement.
But unless it's going for a wacky Mario Strikers vibe, they strive for authenticity and a "real" experience. So points are scored the same way, the same plays are used, the same positions are used.

You definately missed the point of what I posted.

Hockey video games convert what they need to convert to make a good video game. Yes, they strive to make it feel like a hockey game, but there is literally no relation between hitting X while tilting the L stick forward and taking an actual shot on goal in an actual hockey game.

Also Baldur's Gate and BG2 are the best DnD video games.

But even if they weren't, it wouldn't be because others hued more closely to the detailed letter of the rules. If you agree that a video game doesn't need to be exactly the same as the table top game, you've probably misunderstood a lot more of my posts in this thread than just the last one, because that was the point of the comment of mine which you first responded to.

If you imagine that when I say, "the game needn't be an exact rules translation", I mean, "it doesn't matter if literally any aspect other than fluff is recognizable", then you are making up a position to argue against, because I've never said anything of the sort.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Not really, no.
There are hockey video games. There are a whole industry of sports video games, and none of them actually require movement.

There is only one sports video game I'm aware of which attempts to emulate a sports board game, and that is Blood Bowl. And, while opinions may differ, I think it's kind of silly to do that.

And that's just the straight rules. When they make a hockey video game, they don't give the Center the ability to teleport. Or let the puck ricochet like a bouncy ball. The slapshot doesn't set things on fire. The Defence players don't have the power to create phantasmal walls to block shots.

I'd play that game.

I don't expect a D&D video game to follow all of the rules and math of D&D (but several have in the past, including all the best ones). But it shouldn't feel like Generic Fantasy: Origins with a beholder.

Even a D&D video game that does follow all the rules and math feels like Generic Fantasy: Origins with a beholder, because that's what D&D is. Baldur's Gate is totally generic fantasy. And that's fine. Generic fantasy can be great if it's got good writing.

 

[John Bonar]

video games are part of the long term plan, but the iP is so big right now, not many people who have the money to pay the license up front will also be willing to deal with the creative control. that comes along with it. Plus Wizards would be foolish not to get heavily involved with he creative process of the game if they did license one.

 

[Jester David]

Even a D&D video game that does follow all the rules and math feels like Generic Fantasy: Origins with a beholder, because that's what D&D is. Baldur's Gate is totally generic fantasy. And that's fine. Generic fantasy can be great if it's got good writing.

Except it takes more than writing.
Good writing can't save a game with unplayable bugs or wonky balance. And gamers expect elements like good graphics and voice acting as well.

Good game writing is HARD. How many RPG video games do you know that have fantastic stories? Most are adequate at best.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Except it takes more than writing.
Good writing can't save a game with unplayable bugs or wonky balance. And gamers expect elements like good graphics and voice acting as well.

Good game writing is HARD. How many RPG video games do you know that have fantastic stories? Most are adequate at best.

Um... yes, of course. Did I give the impression that I thought otherwise?

 

[MoonSong]

I think there is a way to get good D&D games, even if the rights themselves are tied. Maybe is crazy me, but WotC could easily license the rules system for relatively cheap to developers, with maybe an stipulation that Wizards gets full access to any game engine developed for it. Then license actual IP to the devs that actually do good games that sell well.