D&D 5E Why D&D Can't Have a Good Video Game

[Zardnaar]

Video games are in a funny spot right now. Consoles and PCs are more powerful than they have ever been, but games are arguably getting worse. Consider the Metacritic top games of all time list.

http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/all/all/filtered

Not a distinct lack of Xbox One/PS4 and recent PC titles in there? I would argue that the golden age of gaming peaked somewhere around the PS2 through to Xbox 360 era with help from the other consoles of those eras. The PS2 for example was loaded with so many AAA+ titles, right now the Xboxone has a handful and the PS4 is not that much better off.

Nintendo can consistently produce a good Zelda or Mario game but those games are not for everyone. In the 16 bit era you could have a killer app game with a handful of programmers. Something like Assassins Creed Black Flag cost 100 million to produce and required 8 studios.

How about a nice big sandbox world for a game that is a critical and financial hit and is one of the best if not the best console game ATM? Grand Theft Auto V apparently cost in excess of 250 million dollars which is around 10 years of D&D revenue (good years as well) and that is revenue not profit. Hmmn how about an MMO, Star Wars The Old Republic 200 million+ erm darn.

This is why the last great D&D game was arguably in the 90's while the last good D&D game was over a decade ago while the last great d20 game was 2002's Knights of the Old Republic.

CDs, DVD,s BLue Ray can all hold huge amounts of data but someone still has to take the time to write all of it. Not all games cost 100+ million dollars these days, the Witcher 3 comes in at a reasonable 80 million dollars (around twice the size of the RPG industry).

I did start a thread about 16 bit graphics (a'la Star Dew Valley) for a D&D title as you need something to build on and you are better off having a high scoring indie game that might shift a million units than some piece of crap like Sword Coast Legends which more or less flopped and bankrupted the studio.

Something like Pillars of Eternity still costs around 4 million which used to be the price of an average PS2 game. IN terms of graphics I think that is the best they can hope for a D&D game and they used the Pillars Engine for the Tides of Numenera game IIRC.

Basically you can't afford a decent D&D game by a competent developer.

I would also settle for a competent console engineer (360 red ring of death, PS4 controller connection issues grumle grumble).

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Pillars of Eternity is built upon the bones of the infinity engine which was used primarily for those aforementioned golden age D&D games like Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment. It is, in fact, the closest thing we have to a great modern D&D video game. It may not carry the license or spotlight any official products, settings, or other IP. But its easy to see it as a homebrew and houseruled version of the game itself. The industry may think it needs to do something more elaborate or next-gen to be of an interest to their target audience, but Obsidian proved they understand it much better. Afterall, it was their audience who supported and financed the project through a kickstarter, and have done it again for the upcoming sequel.

 

[Coroc]

Well there are very good versions of baldurs gate torment and icewinddale out on steam.
Even with an addon to BG1, and with the new Interface it is really much fun to play these.

If you can get it running without bugs ToEE is there on CD ROM

Neverwinter is still fun to Play (I mean the solo game not the mmorpg)

DDO is real good just try it

Sword coast adventures could be good but it has a very ugly bug.

 

[thomkt]

During the 4th Ed days, I was hoping for a turn-based came like X-Com, but with the current DnD rule set.

Oh well, at least I have War of the Chosen to keep me going.

 

[Zardnaar]

Well there are very good versions of baldurs gate torment and icewinddale out on steam.
Even with an addon to BG1, and with the new Interface it is really much fun to play these.

If you can get it running without bugs ToEE is there on CD ROM

Neverwinter is still fun to Play (I mean the solo game not the mmorpg)

DDO is real good just try it

Sword coast adventures could be good but it has a very ugly bug.

D&D games do not interest me that much or even video game RPGs in general (exception Mass Effect 1-3, KoToR). I think the last D&D game I played was Eye of the Beholder 2/3, Warriors of the Eternal Sun and that Capcom Mystara game.

 

[Mephista]

Well, first, I don't put stock into these kinds of lists. It certainly is filled with nostalgia and rose colored glasses.

Secondly? A lot of gaming has shifted around lately. We don't just have the playstation and nintendo and PC. There's mobile games now, and that's HUGE. Even then? That's not touching on the fact that PC gaming has gotten a ton of more independant game developers in the market. Some of my favorite games that came out recently are ones I bought off steam for $5. Its easy as hell to find fun, quirky games that fit you exactly, while earlier times we had to make do with what they gave us.

As far as why D&D can't have a good game? Probably just a combination of several factors, but mostly? I say its because a D&D game would be, by nature, tied to D&D's system itself, which, when all is said and done? Is actually not that great of a system for video games. There's a lot better way to run things.

 

[pukunui]

It's only been three months since [MENTION=6716779]Zardnaar[/MENTION]'s last thread on this topic (see here). I didn't realize it was time for another one already.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

I thought they did have a good computer game. I'm playing Icewind Dale right now.

 

[Jester David]

It's almost as if in the last decade some other platform for gaming emerged that attracts small and mid sized game design studios but isn't ranked in Metacritic....

 

[Sacrosanct]

IMO, why they haven't had a good recent D&D video game is because they insist on making them action RPGs and not turn based RPGs. D&D is a turn based game, and if you have to completely rewrite all the skills, powers, and spells to work on a timer countdown or something like that, it doesn't feel like D&D. It's just another action fantasy RPG. It would be like taking NBA Live 2K18 and making that a turn based game. Just doesn't feel like an NBA gaming experience.