D&D + Surface = Need New Pants
I’m not going to bother writing a rant about this; just watch the video. Some people, who I can only assume are from the future, have mushed Microsoft’s Surface together with Dungeons & Dragons. The results? Something better than Wizards of the Coast has been able to do in the past three years while trying to launch the online D&D Game Table. Wow. Just watch.
Before anyone leaps up and starts defending D&D as an experience that doesn’t need electronics, I point my finger at D&D Insider, the tools that let players create characters with a computer program. My groups have used nothing but in the past year, and I can’t recommend the program enough. On that same note, this is best used if not taken far too seriously, since toying with rules is part of what makes D&D so fun. My only issue is that I’m never going to be able to play like this, even if I did drop several thousand dollars on the Surface. It’s a work in progress, and will never get the licensing or rights to be released as it should. Please, Wizards of the Coast, hire these young scholars, let them build the tools you haven’t the ability to. I love you, 4th Edition D&D is all kinds of awesome, but please admit when you can’t do something, and take advantage of those who can.
Geekbob says:
Well, I shall first need my emergency pants!
Second, I’m not sure I would ever want to play that way as it’s seemed awfully long to resolve one move and attack. At least not in a situation where I’m already around a table with friends.
But it was pretty damn impressive none the less.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
MJ Harnish says:
I just can’t get excited by this type of stuff because it makes D&D look even more like a video game and completely eliminates the tactile feel of the game as well as any sort of imagination needed.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
nekodachi says:
Yeah, some of it does go a little too high tech for me. I’d rather use real dice, figures and paper, but I would love to be able to build and manipulate virtual maps directly on the table. One thing I hate about paper maps is that you can often see paths that your character wouldn’t see — you can anticipate things that your character wouldn’t know. With this system, the DM could literally manipluate the map so players couldn’t see a room until they enter it.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:43 pm