D&D 5E Sword Coast Legends: After the fall.

[Corpsetaker]

I just went and had a look at the Sword Coast Legends website and the place is basically a "one horse town" kind of place. It seems that all development on the game as stopped and there is little support. It seems that the code is beginning to break down with no fixes in sight. It looks to me like the game was an utter failure.

Do you think Wizards will try and bring forth another D&D video game having learned "lots" of lessons from this fiasco, or do you think Neverwinter is all we will see for a while?

Well, there is always a D&D video game if the future movie is anywhere decent.

 

[Inglorin]

Wasn't this "just" a license deal? If I remember correctly WotC got approached by the developer/publisher, to use the D&D license for their game. So: If another publisher apporached Wizards, I would presume that they would be willing to make that kind of deal again. Why not? This one is not on Wizards, the game was crap to begin with. Overpromised and badly done. *shrug*

 

[Charles Rampant]

We'll see new D&D games as long as someone is willing to pay for the licence. Doubtless you could put out a new D&D game yourself, were you willing to assemble a team and approached WotC with a reasonable and costed proposition. These days though, most companies seem willing to do their own IP, even if they have a copy of the Monster Manual in the office somewhere while doing so.

I know basically nothing about how WotC works; but I know that Games Workshop, another company with an exciting relationship to computer games, has a dedicated team who handle licences and suchlike. GW are absolutely terrible at creating cross-media stuff - they don't have any connection between the computer games, books and wargame - and regularly get bitched out by the community for it.

 

[Spookykid]

Neverwinter somehow both blows and sucks at the same time.
Dungeons and dragons online is still going strong and a great game.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Wasn't this "just" a license deal? If I remember correctly WotC got approached by the developer/publisher, to use the D&D license for their game. So: If another publisher apporached Wizards, I would presume that they would be willing to make that kind of deal again. Why not? This one is not on Wizards, the game was crap to begin with. Overpromised and badly done. *shrug*

What do you mean why not?

You do realize this game has continued to make D&D look bad when it comes to Video games. Reputation is important in this kind of industry so just licensing it out to anyone is not a good idea.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Wasn't this "just" a license deal? If I remember correctly WotC got approached by the developer/publisher, to use the D&D license for their game. So: If another publisher apporached Wizards, I would presume that they would be willing to make that kind of deal again. Why not? This one is not on Wizards, the game was crap to begin with. Overpromised and badly done. *shrug*

Exactly. The Infinity Engine that Bioware came up with was being built and going to be its own game until they met with TSR and they made the deal to turn it into Baldur's Gate. That's usually how these things come about. The video game developer goes to the Brand-holder to use the brand for their game because they figure it'll be easier to market.

That's the whole point of being a Brand-holder... so that you don't have to make all the extraneous crap yourself. Other people come to you and ask to make tee-shirts, mugs, lunchboxes, underpants, pencils, and Halloween costumes with your Brand on them, and you sit back and rake in the licensing fees.

 

[Parmandur]

WotC has limited control over these deals; until such a time as Hasbro develops an in-house game studio, that will likely continue to be the case.

 

[DEFCON 1]

What do you mean why not?

You do realize this game has continued to make D&D look bad when it comes to Video games. Reputation is important in this kind of industry so just licensing it out to anyone is not a good idea.

No one cares about the Brand on the video game, they care about the quality of the video game itself. The SSI games eventually died in the water not because the D&D brand was no longer worthwhile, but because the games themselves just didn't advance. Because then a few years later Baldur's Gate got released and suddenly a D&D game became huge again-- but that wasn't because the brand made it huge, it's because the game itself was really, really good.

Sword Coast Legends didn't die because the brand was bad. The game died because the game was bad. And as soon as someone else with a really awesome game asks to put the D&D branding on it, a D&D game will become huge again.

 

[Istbor]

Whoever does pick up the goblet, I think should improve upon the dungeon building and campaign building. For all of the doom-saying around Sword coasts and Neverwinter, I have enjoyed some of the creations from other players.

What I didn't enjoy was the character creation and development. I was hoping form something with a little more... umph? At least something with more customization, maybe a little Path of Exile mixed in. Yes, I know that would not feel very D&D, at some point you just have to realize this is a video game and not the table top and make some departures.

 

[CapnZapp]

Note to next licensee:

If you claim your new video game is based on the Dungeon & Dragons' 5th edition ruleset, have it be based on the Dungeon & Dragons' 5th edition ruleset.

Just an idea.