D&D 5E (2014) So Why Can't 5E Get a Video Game?

[JonnyP71]

Masses of crunch really is not necessary - I'd argue that it would put more casual gamers off, and there's probably a much bigger market among casual players than there is with us gaming-obsessives here!

 

[Fanaelialae]

Did 4e get a game? It seems made for it and I was looking forward to one but I don't recall anything other than neverwinter. I'd have wanted something a little more tactical like neverwinter nights 2 but with the 4e ruleset. I reckon that would have been sweet.

I don't believe so. I think 4e would have been much harder to implement than it appears at first glance, due to its heavy use of reactions. (Do you query every creature with an appropriate reaction every time the trigger occurs? Seems like that would get old real fast.) Ironic, given the regular comparisons of 4e to a video game.

 

[Belltent]

Masses of crunch really is not necessary - I'd argue that it would put more casual gamers off, and there's probably a much bigger market among casual players than there is with us gaming-obsessives here!

Pillars or Eternity, Diablo, WoW, and sooo many others disagree. Even going back to metroidvania style games, the point was always getting new stuff and using the new stuff to kill things. 5e is beautifully streamlined, but typically instead of new options as you level, you get better at what you already have. Feats are much rarer and there's no analogue to a talent/skill tree system, and these are hallmarks of the tabletop videogame experience. A fighter in a 5e video game would attack then attack and then attack and then attack (GWM for an attack with bigger numbers.) Compare that to the fighter of Neverwinter Nights or the Soldier from KotoR (both based on PnP games) who had strategies for every encounter and options to pick at every level.

Mentioning those games brings me back....

 

[Warmaster Horus]

It is odd given how we hear that Habro wants to capitalize on the D&D brand in media (movies). Top end video games are bigger than movies and have deeper, more persistent market penetration. You'd think that a successful table-top RPG would want to transition to a popular video game to reestablish the brand before trying a movie.

 

[JonnyP71]

Again I disagree, I found the excessive mechanics in Pillars somewhat off-putting, and Neverwinter Nights put me off ever wanting to play 3/3.5E at the gaming table.

The best D&D games have been the Baldur's Gate series - by a country mile.

 

[Belltent]

Video games are much harder to make than a movie. They take way longer too.

 

[JValeur]

It's really tough to wrap your head around. 5th editions relatively simple mechanics and clear-cut archetypes and bloatless core frame is so well suited for a video game, that it's actually ridiculous that a real attempt hasn't been made. Sword Coast Legends was an abomination, that had very little to do with 5E. Unfortunately, it seems that their failed attempt has scared potential game producers off - and as far as I've heard (can't remember where) the IP for a D&D game is very expensive, and comes with a lot of strings attached, so it seems that the companies that would have a chance at doing it right, prefer to do their own thing instead (PoE 2, Divinity: Original Sin 2, etc.).

 

[Belltent]

Again I disagree, I found the excessive mechanics in Pillars somewhat off-putting, and Neverwinter Nights put me off ever wanting to play 3/3.5E at the gaming table.

The best D&D games have been the Baldur's Gate series - by a country mile.

I respect your disagreement. I just reaaaallly don't think the 5e table experience would translate to a satisfying single player experience. I think WotC put a lot of effort into making this edition the best one to play face to face with people and don't see how it would track outside of that setting.

 

[Jer]

The most obvious explanation is that Hasbro hasn't found a studio who wants to spend the money for the license and the D&D team doesn't have the money to do one themselves. There could be multiple reasons for this - D&D Online, Neverwinter, and Sword Coast Legends all exist for starters and there may be some competition issues with Sword Coast Legends involved (that game is less than 2 years old at this point). There's also a movie coming down the pike that might be complicating licensing issues as well.

Obviously computer game licenses are out there - Wizards just announced a casual game set in the Forgotten Realms. But I'd bet that there are factors that just make it not very attractive for a studio right now (if I were a studio head, then the three active and competing existing D&D branded games would make it a non-starter for me - especially Sword Coast Legends).

 

[Warmaster Horus]

I respect your disagreement. I just reaaaallly don't think the 5e table experience would translate to a satisfying single player experience. I think WotC put a lot of effort into making this edition the best one to play face to face with people and don't see how it would track outside of that setting.

As much as Sword Coast Legends failed to be a satisfying game it did have the right idea about incorporating multiplayer and DMing/dungeon creation to a DnD title. However they lost the spirit of the game (weird scaling - fighting a beholder at 1st level and being ripped apart by goblins at 14th?, timer-abilities, etc) from what DnD players expected in the translation.