D&D 4E Maybe D&D 4e should be... World of Warcraft?

[Aaron L]

MMORPGs and real RPGs are very different creatures. I dont see online games eating RPGs, they have different audiences. The audiences overlap, but Ive never seen a gamer ditch D&D for WoW or EQ (well, one, but he was a video gamer first and only played with us because we persuaded him to). May just be my limited experience, but I dont think D&D will be killed.\

I play WoW and CoH, and I played EQ constantly for 5 years. But given the oppurtunity for a REAL game, I would turn the computer off immediately.

 

[wedgeski]

Everything has to be finely balanced so the script-kiddies don't get things out of whack, so every month or so your character pretty much gets rebooted because the designers changed how ______ class or _______ ability works and they refunded all of your character points in case you want to spend them differently, etc.

Just in the interests of factual adherence here , each of the character classes in the game has had one such review in the year since the game was released, and IMO every class was improved in so doing.

Eh. I liked the game for what it was ... I'd like it alot more if it catered to the things I like to do a little more. But it wasn't, and every month it's changed even further in that direction, because 3,950,000 people enjoy THAT style of game more.

I can't agree that the nature of the game is being somehow changed by the updates. Essentially the core design has remained stable (anyone who hasn't played WoW but has played Diablo2 will recognise it immediately), and additional stuff has been added around the edges.

To be fair, given that the core design of the game is 'make your character as powerful as possible in order to kill nastier things', it still confuses me why the game is just so damn good. A high-quality MMORPG is actually some people's definition of the worst kind of RPG, and yet the things are insanely more popular than the likes of D&D.

 

[davidschwartznz]

At a certain point this fundamentally becomes a different hobby. That's great if all you want is money, but not everyone needs to treat the game as a multi-million dollar business.

Exactly.

In terms of numbers, MMOs don't have signifcantly more players than PnP games. MMO are popularly viewed as more successful only because they make a hell of lot more money. And that boils down to the fact that MMO players are all required to spend around 200 dollars a year in fees, where as the average roleplayer only needs to buy a PHB and a splatbook, if that. (The truth is those of us who buy more than that are a minority.)

I don't know about you reading this, but I don't measure success in terms of money. And I don't see MMOs as an improvement on PnP roleplaying. Virtual fishing may keep you entertained for a while, but it's not storytelling. And I honestly don't thinks its going to keep you entertained for long. MMOs are a valid gaming medium, but they're not RPGs and they're not going to replace good ol' fashion imagination.

 

[Ranger REG]

In terms of numbers, MMOs don't have signifcantly more players than PnP games.

I wish I could take comfort in your statement above.

 

[Odhanan]

Maybe D&D 4e should be... World of Warcraft

... On my dead body!

 

[Remathilis]

Someone beat you to it: http://www.warcraftrpg.com/

oh, not what you meant...

 

[AegisKelt]

Erik, I had to make that quote my sig lol.

 

[Erik Mona]

Sweet.

--Erik

 

[Digital M@]

On-line gaming or D&D via computer would never work for me. I enjoy the people at the table, even when they are strangers, and that is what makes the game. I can't play a play by post game because there is no interaction with people, well, that and they are so freaking slow.


If you remove personal interaction and commerodery (or however you spell it) then I have no interest in the game.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

While online gaming has never really caught my interest, I do think that D&D - and RPGs in general - would do well to create electronic game aids that facilitate tabletop gaming. That is, programs or devices that do all the numbers-crunching while still allowing players to have as much input as they do with today's dice and paper. Something that would keep track of a PC's bonuses and penalties, have a copy of the rules-set for easy reference, and the ability to allow the DM to show pictures or notes to as many of the PCs as he wants. Ideally, this would entail each player having something like a pda or similar hand-held device that can connect to that of the other players when they sit down to play together. Something small and unobtrusive, not something like a desktop LAN party. This isn't something I see happening anytime soon, but maybe in the next 5-10 years, as pda's and the like become increasingly powerful and cheap, and games like D&D can include a dedicated device as part of the initial buy-in package for the game.

What I have in mind is something that would speed up combat and make bookkeeping a snap, so that players and DM can be free to really play the game, rather than crunch numbers. Now, if you're gonna protest that this would be too expensive or would distance players from each other, then what you are envisioning is not what I am seeing. I'm just thinking that something that eliminated the need to carry dozens of books to the table and made it so combat only dominated a game session if the players and DM all wanted it to would be a welcome addition. Can it be done at the moment? Probably not, and still be inexpensive enough for anyone to afford it if they can afford to buy a PHB. So I'm looking towards the future here.

Might take a while to figure out how to keep the dice included...