Video game influences on my D&D

[Dyir]

Recently i made a couple of house rules to my D&D game that were both (for the most part) inspired by video game-style mechanics. Firstly, i tried to emulate an "action bar"-type mechanic from Chronotrigger to control when players acted, because i found that may players were simply not paying attention when it wasn't there turn: now they pay attention all the time because they're afraid of their turn coming up and being skipped. Secondly, my players suffer from character ADD, so i took the characters away from them: now they select 1 character from a "menu" of available heroes in a Final Fantasy-style format. Both changes have not merely been accepted, they've been embraced with enthusiasm (especially the second one, now a player can be the gallant swordsman one week, the ruthless necromancer the next, and then become the elf sorceress boom-mage).

I'm not sure that either mechanic would translate well in a non-house rules format, but they've made my game much more enjoyable for both me as the GM and for all of my players. If done well, i can't imagine how "video game" mechanics could be harmful to the enjoyment of a game, simply because of their source of origin.

 

[WayneLigon]

I actually remembered that there is one concept I've only ever seen in a video game before, and then saw in an RPG. In Iron Heroes, where you set up people through particular combinations of maneuvers in order to deal more devestating damage? That is just like the WoW Rogue ability. And a darn fine implementation of a good idea it is, too.

 

[Hussar]

I actually remembered that there is one concept I've only ever seen in a video game before, and then saw in an RPG. In Iron Heroes, where you set up people through particular combinations of maneuvers in order to deal more devestating damage? That is just like the WoW Rogue ability. And a darn fine implementation of a good idea it is, too.

Sounds an awful lot like Mortal Combat or Street Fighter to me. Back, back, punch, up, down, left.

Oh, but, only WOTC is evil for borrowing ideas from video games.

 

[Psion]

3. Just for the record, those rare silicon sorcery articles (which I found poorly put together) haven't run in Dragon for quite some time, with maybe one or two exceptions. They weren't that popular, either, which would contrary to your point.

I liked them, despite not playing most of the games featured.

I liked them mainly because their contents seemed fresh. In many ways, D&D is hidebound and self canibalizing. It's often been commented by game designers that they do their best work when they don't choose their assignment. I think that is what's going on here. By forcing themselves to adapt to something that is built for a totally different system and set of assumptions, the designers are really forced to bring to the game something that isn't a direct outgrowth of something that already exists for 3e.

 

[KingCrab]

I don't know if it's a serious problem, but I agree it can be unnerving. When I first read of the Dragon Shaman class all I could think of was the Diablo II paladin, and that's still the case.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I don't know if it's a serious problem, but I agree it can be unnerving. When I first read of the Dragon Shaman class all I could think of was the Diablo II paladin, and that's still the case.

I'm puzzled as to why it's a problem at all.

You'll steal from novels, even trash () like The Lord of the Rings.

You'll steal from television shows.

You'll steal from films.

Hell, I know people who steal ideas from music!

But you can't steal ideas from video games? Come the on.

 

[Hussar]

Heck, I LIKE those Silicon Sorcery articles. Not all of them mind you, but a lot of them. The article a while back on monstrous animal companions for druids saw pretty much instant use in my game for my party ranger. Chocobos? Who can hate chocobos? And I am seriously itching to use those collosal constructs from that game whose name I don7t remember.

Maybe its because I don't play a lot of video games that borrowing from them doesn't bother me whatsoever. But, really, what's the problem with using ideas from computer games? How can any inspiration be "bad"?

 

[shilsen]

Maybe its because I don't play a lot of video games that borrowing from them doesn't bother me whatsoever. But, really, what's the problem with using ideas from computer games? How can any inspiration be "bad"?

Because computer games are for children and are silly and have no imagination. We can't take inspiration from silly stuff. Now excuse me while I go off and pretend to be an elf.

 

[Hussar]

Hey! At least invite some friends over!

How I wish I could find that ad on the internet.

 

[WizarDru]

I liked them, despite not playing most of the games featured.

That's probably WHY you like them, actually. My main problem with them wasn't that they were bad, per se, but that they seemed so poorly cribbed from their sources. After playing Asheron's Call for nearly 3 years, reading the Silicon Sorcery article about it, where they choose some really odd and IMHO incorrect things to take from them game (as opposed to much more interesting material, both fluffy and crunchy-wise). A large part of my satsifaction with them stemmed from my disappointment at the lost opportunities. If the writers were completely unfamiliar with the source material, that would explain a great deal about those articles.