D&D 5E How To Make a Good D&D Videogame

[Zardnaar]

That's not a 51% out of 100% given as a review - that's 51% of people given two choices, recommend or not, choosing to recommend the game.

...and that is even with it being generally true that people are more probable to speak up to trash on something than to praise it, and with reviews coming from people that chose not to recommended the game including such contradictory information as having played the game for 127 hours and saying "I didn't like it."

Now, if you knew that the 51% I was talking about was 51% of nearly 2000 people saying "yes, get this game" and you still wouldn't buy anything under 70%... that's a different story entirely, especially since there is no way at all to guarantee that you are getting info from people with preferences similar to yours (i.e. there might be 2000 people that have played the game and chose to review it, but not all 2000 like what you like so some of the "don't get this game" reviews might actually be listing things you like and the reviewer doesn't as reasons to avoid the game). I mean, I know that 70% of my friends, let alone a group of complete strangers with nothing in common other than the broad quality of "likes videogames", don't agree with me about what is or isn't a good video game even half of the time.

These things still tend to even out on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes and similar sites. Compare Phantom Menace with say The Force Awakens and SCL is getting Phantom Menace levels of reviews/positive feedback. Pillars of Eternity for example has an 89% score on metacritic.

 

[Shasarak]

The issue we would have in getting a game like this is that those companies who have the money, employees and skill to pull off a D&D game of that quality are so big that they would rather make their own IP rather than use the D&D IP. That's exactly what happened with Bioware-- after Neverwinter Nights they had the cache to make their own fantasy IPs instead of leasing WotC's (and thus we got Dragon Age.) Even Obsidian (who aren't exactly a huge company) went with their own IP for their Infinity Engine style game, rather than try and acquire the D&D license.

Obsidian has partnered with Paizo to do a Pathfinder game and InXile has partnered with Monty Cook to do a Numenera based Torment 2 game so they are not exclusively using their own IP.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Shasarak]

Yes, the amount of dev resources devoted to a tablet-based card game are staggering.

I am looking forward to that game so much - I can finally feed my DnD based card cravings.

 

[iserith]

Which D&D-esque computer game should I pick up on Steam right now? I'll be playing on my laptop.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[AriochQ]

Two of the best tabletop conversions I have played were:

Autoduel (1985) - Based on Car Wars
Battletech (Unlicensed game for the Amiga in the late 1980s)

Both of those games kept the core game system but made changes to account for computer gaming. In the case of Autoduel, they ditched turn based and made it real time. In Battletech, they ditched turn based and based weapon firing rate and heat dissipation on a master clock timer.

IMHO, the problem with most of the recent D&D games is that they ditch TOO MUCH of the base game mechanics.

 

[Beleriphon]

Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II, both Enhanced Edition are fantastic games. They are buggy, but they are solid super fun D&D games. The first one functions more or less as a modified AD&D 2nd Edition, while BGII works as base AD&D 2nd Edition with pseudo-3rd Edition extra stuff.

Two of the best tabletop conversions I have played were:

Autoduel (1985) - Based on Car Wars
Battletech (Unlicensed game for the Amiga in the late 1980s)

Both of those games kept the core game system but made changes to account for computer gaming. In the case of Autoduel, they ditched turn based and made it real time. In Battletech, they ditched turn based and based weapon firing rate and heat dissipation on a master clock timer.

IMHO, the problem with most of the recent D&D games is that they ditch TOO MUCH of the base game mechanics.

I think one can ditch most of the cruft of the table top game in a computer game, depending on what the design intent is. If the objective to create a fun D&D CRPG there's a few ways that could go. One is a pretty straight translation of the actual tabletop rules to a computer game where the CPU does all of the back end calculations, but to-hit and all that stuff still works on a 1-20 random number generator. The other method is to create a game that looks like D&D, has D&D stuff, and uses D&D terms but otherwise doesn't work exactly like the tabletop game does. Dragon Age: Inquisition actually isn't that dissimilar to what I'm describing, feats are gained, special abilities come online, stats go up (or not) and skills are learned, it even has a whole party for us to control.

I think there-in lies the most important part of D&D. The group dynamic. As much fun as Skyrim is it doesn't have that group dynamic that Dragon Age provided. I think that is part of the reason that Dragon Age was touted as the spiritual successor to the D&D CRPGs. It captured the fantasy feel, but more than that it got the group of varied characters going on an adventure.

 

[Paraxis]

Which D&D-esque computer game should I pick up on Steam right now? I'll be playing on my laptop.

Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition is on sale for 33% off right now and is amazing. http://store.steampowered.com/app/373420/

 

[GX.Sigma]

Which D&D-esque computer game should I pick up on Steam right now? I'll be playing on my laptop.

I just looked through my library and the only one I'd recommend highly (assuming you mean high-fantasy aesthetic and dungeon-crawly gameplay) is Gauntlet: Slayer Edition. The characters all lend themselves to different styles of play, the core mechanics are fun, and it's a perfect couch co-op game.

Other ones I've played:

Baldur's Gate (1 and 2): Story campaign is well-written and intriguing, core gameplay is complete garbage by modern standards. Punishes you hard for the slightest mistake or bad luck. UI is incredibly awkward. Requires understanding of 2e rules. Rewarding if you have the time and patience. NOT A PICK-UP-AND-PLAY TYPE GAME. You will die a lot and not understand why. Don't forget to quicksave before every encounter, and reload over and over until you win the encounter without losing any resources.

Skyrim: This is the best D&D computer game so far, but I think everyone knows that already.

D&D Chronicles of Mystara: 2 pretty good arcade games in a really bad port with horrendous controller support. Worth a go if you can wrangle the controls into a form you find acceptable.

Sword Coast Legends: The game plays itself. I've heard it's possible to die in this game but I've never seen it. All powers are "Encounter Powers," and this has a predictable effect on combat depth (pro tip: cast bless at the start of every fight). Most interface elements are slightly better than BG, some are slightly worse. Voice acting is surprisingly good; everyone has real British accents for once. Nothing great here, nothing horrendous. Worth a try if you want a much easier, less interesting remake of Baldur's Gate.

Dragon Age Origins: I found this game frustrating on my first attempt, and unplayable on future attempts. Promises meaningful choices and consequences; completely crippled by technical limitations such as party headcount. Destroys immersion when you have too many friends and have to tell one to go himself for no reason other than the game says you have to have a certain number of teammates. Spoiler: the "darkspawn led by a greater demon" are just orcs led by a dragon, and this "dark fantasy" is just regular fantasy. Also, if you meet a priest who wants to join you, don't be fooled, she's not a healer.