D&D 5E Why D&D Can't Have a Good Video Game

Saelorn said:

The video game genre of RPG is recognized by the degree to which it resembles classic D&D. It's defined by its mechanics. The class and level system, HP, spell slots, random encounters, and abstract turn-based combat are the foundations of the genre. The further you get away from those things, the less the game is even recognizable as an RPG.

I guess you could put out a video game that was based on the D&D setting but wasn't even an RPG, but that seems like it would have all the same problems of the D&D movies. The setting, in as much as you can say that D&D even has a setting, isn't nearly as exciting is the mechanics which are used to describe that setting.

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I think your right that it would have some of the same hurdles as the movies, mainly the script and acting.

If the script of the interactive video game is as bad as the movies then the game is dead in the water. But the game wouldn't have hollywood executives picking and changing the script to be "safer" or whatever, video game stories have a freedom that movies just don't.

And acting isn't an issue because its replaced by voice over, which is in fact kind of a trump card for D&D right now, Because it just so happens that one of the biggest and post popular D&D campaign is played by a pack of some of the most talented voice actors. Imagine having everyone from Critical Role do voice over for the next Telltale/Life is Strange video game, which im pretty sure half the cast has done Telltale, and Ashley Burch was the voice of Chloe in Life is Strange and shes been on Critical Role like 3 times now. Plus, since its voice over, you can get Aquisitions Inc members in the mix. The fact that its a game and not a movie means you can have people that are associated with D&D without the limitations a movie has, you can Jerry, Scott, Patrick and Mike play Large handsome Warriors or goblins or old ladies or whatever, something you can never do in a movie.

And aside from all the obvious things a game can do more easily that a movie can't budget wise, is the Interactivity which a movie can not do at all. And the fact that you don't have to squeeze characters, their arcs, back stories, and world building into two hours.

And you can even make it Episodic which does annoy people to some extent but also mirrors D&D perfectly. every D&D session ends with a reveal/cliff hanger and the table goes "awwh WHAT?!? really?!?! come on?!?!" then they spend the next week talking to each other speculating what everything might mean, coming up with theories, listening to and enjoying other players theories and predictions. Which is exactly what happens with Telltale and Life is Strange and i'd even argue that its a corner stone to playing those games and is in part what makes them so fun and popular.

Now i'm starting to think that maybe an Interactive story video game might be better then not only an RPG video game but also a movie lol

As someone who loved Temple of Elemental Evil (so much so that I helped out with the modding community on it) because it replicated the D&D mechanics so closely, I have to disagree with the folks saying a good D&D game needs to ignore the mechanics. I probably played through ToEE over a dozen times trying out different character builds and party compositions.

Kalshane said:

As someone who loved Temple of Elemental Evil (so much so that I helped out with the modding community on it) because it replicated the D&D mechanics so closely, I have to disagree with the folks saying a good D&D game needs to ignore the mechanics. I probably played through ToEE over a dozen times trying out different character builds and party compositions.

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Just to be clear, I didn't mean to imply that in order for D&D to make a good game they need to ignore the mechanics.

It's very obvious that they have made good games in the past using D&D mechanics, and people very much want more D&D games with the mechanics.

I was just trying to say maybe its possible that D&D could also make a good game without the mechanics. And try to point out some benefits of a short and sweet Telltale/LiS style game.

I want to play a good D&D video game like everyone else but 20-40+ hours is too much for me now.

SmokeyCriminal said:

/snip

I want to play a good D&D video game like everyone else but 20-40+ hours is too much for me now.

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I wonder how much this plays into it. If they made a D&D game that you played, front to back, in 10-20 hours, people would lose their collective minds. How could a D&D game be so limited???!?!??! But, on the other hand, these extended games are a lot harder to find a market for. Once upon a time, you'd play a game for 50 hours and that was pretty routine. Things like the Ultima games and whatnot, is what I'm thinking of.

I'm not sure how much market there really is for a D&D branded, open world game where you're expected to grind through 40+ hours of play to finish the game.

Hussar said:

I'm not sure how much market there really is for a D&D branded, open world game where you're expected to grind through 40+ hours of play to finish the game.

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What about an open world that has much more game play than that, but the main quest line can be finished in 10 - 20 hours?

Hussar said:

I'm not sure how much market there really is for a D&D branded, open world game where you're expected to grind through 40+ hours of play to finish the game.

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The market is there as Divine Divinity: Original Sin 2 currently shows. But the market is too small for Hasbro to consider it.
Basically they either have to go through kickstarter and Hasbro would need to wave most if not all licensing cost or Hasbro has to pay a big developer to make a D&D game. And I do not see either of that happening soon.
Also, the D&D license is more of a detriment now. 4E has burned it pretty badly so it won't attract much newer audience and the older ones still have Baldurs Gate or Neverwinter Nights as benchmark the new game has to live up to.

I dunno if D&D branding is much of a detriment now. Some of the best selling board games are D&D branded. And 5e isn't doesn't really have any actual competition and is growing by leaps and bounds.

I suppose one good thing about 4e dying as fast as it did is that it really doesn't register on anyone's radar.

Hussar said:

I'm not sure how much market there really is for a D&D branded, open world game where you're expected to grind through 40+ hours of play to finish the game.

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A DnD version of Skyrim would be cool and on the other hand I dont know how long the main story line is.

SmokeyCriminal said:

Just to be clear, I didn't mean to imply that in order for D&D to make a good game they need to ignore the mechanics.

It's very obvious that they have made good games in the past using D&D mechanics, and people very much want more D&D games with the mechanics.

I was just trying to say maybe its possible that D&D could also make a good game without the mechanics. And try to point out some benefits of a short and sweet Telltale/LiS style game.

I want to play a good D&D video game like everyone else but 20-40+ hours is too much for me now.

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I don't think it has to fully replicate every single mechanic and that it can't rebalance or jigger with pacing and number of combats between rests. But it should still feel very much like D&D. Familiar mechanics should be there and do familiar things.

After all, if there was a football video game, you'd expect it to follow most of the rules of football. You'd expect field goals, defensive sides, yards, downs, and the like. You expect golf games to have clubs, wind, greens, fairways, and counting strokes .

You can't change all the mechanics and make a generic fantasy RPG videogame, then slap a beholder in it and call it "D&D".

A Telltale Forgotten Realms game could be fun. You. Could do a great fantasy game in a D&D world. But I don't think it would be a D&D game. Just like if you did a Telltale game about a hockey team going through the playoffs and having locker room drama it wouldn't be a "hockey video game."

thomkt said:

What about an open world that has much more game play than that, but the main quest line can be finished in 10 - 20 hours?

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Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor takes, on average, 15.5 hours to beat.

https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=18006

The game emphasizes combat mechanics and has far better grapple animations than Skyrim's.

The idea: Get a license from WotC to use 5e and the IP for one of the gaming worlds. Add the ability to mod it out so that the game, though short, gives modders the tools to build environments and worlds.