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

[Parmandur]

What about the other Golden Age of:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secret of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness
Temple of Elemental Evil

So many great games.

Also a small startup that licensed D&D; just like SCL. They take their chances with who approaches them, sometimes they get Gold Box or Infinity Engine games, sometimes they get DDO ot SCL.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

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.

That's not true at all. The D&D brand was the only reason that SCL got any attention at all, from the previews it was clear they were making a game that would be thoroughly mediocre at best. (And we all know it ended up falling way short of even that) But because of a the pent-up demand for a D&D CRPG it got plenty of attention in the media and on gaming forums.

I definitely agree that a great D&D branded CRPG will be a huge success, if anyone cared to make it. My secret hope is that Larian will make a D&D game using a version of the Divinity: Original Sin engine, it should work work rather well adapted to 5E D&D rules.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Also a small startup that licensed D&D; just like SCL. They take their chances with who approaches them, sometimes they get Gold Box or Infinity Engine games, sometimes they get DDO ot SCL.

Ridiculous. SSI was definitely not a "small startup", they were a well established company and one of the biggest players in PC gaming at the time.

And Bioware may have been a small studio when they started work on Baldur's Gate, but the game was fully funded by the publisher Interplay (another industry giant) so they had plenty of resources to develop the game. Interplay was actually the licence holder, they had an exclusive license for D&D video games at the time.

The situation of the last decade where D&D video game development has been left to small, self-funded studios is the fluke. And the results are hardly surprising, only bad to mediocre games compared to the good and great games of the past, when D&D video games were made by major game developers.

 

[Corpsetaker]

What about the other Golden Age of:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secret of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness
Temple of Elemental Evil

So many great games.

I loved these games! I also liked Hillsfar, Menzoberranzan, the Ravenloft games, the Dragonlance games, and the Eye of the Beholder series.

 

[JeffB]

Ridiculous. SSI was definitely not a "small startup", they were a well established company and one of the biggest players in PC gaming at the time.

Absolutely correct. I had bought several popular SSI games long before POR arrived.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Absolutely correct. I had bought several popular SSI games long before POR arrived.

Didn't they have some World War II games out back in the day? Panzer General?

 

[JeffB]

Didn't they have some World War II games out back in the day? Panzer General?

They had several wargames, flight sims, their own fantasy rpg titles , and I think they dabbled in sports games as well.


Yep..here's the list
linky

 

[Corpsetaker]

They had several wargames, flight sims, their own fantasy rpg titles , and I think they dabbled in sports games as well.


Yep..here's the list
linky

Well done! Those were great games.

 

[Beleriphon]

And Bioware may have been a small studio when they started work on Baldur's Gate, but the game was fully funded by the publisher Interplay (another industry giant) so they had plenty of resources to develop the game. Interplay was actually the licence holder, they had an exclusive license for D&D video games at the time.

But where is Interplay now? They didn't survive a post-Baldur's Gate world.

The situation of the last decade where D&D video game development has been left to small, self-funded studios is the fluke. And the results are hardly surprising, only bad to mediocre games compared to the good and great games of the past, when D&D video games were made by major game developers.

I think the issue is the companies that have the clout these days to produce a great D&D game have zero interest in doing so. Why would they? Its too much hassle, fees they have to pay Hasbro rather than just come up with their own games and settings. There's a risk with creating your own IP, but if it pays off it pays off in spades.

 

[SkidAce]

I loved these games! I also liked Hillsfar, Menzoberranzan, the Ravenloft games, the Dragonlance games, and the Eye of the Beholder series.

Don't forget the Dark Sun one, Shattered Lands.