While theDungeons & Dragonsrole-playing tabletop game is making a resurgence, along with tabletop gaming in general, its future in video games also looks bright as well, with abouteight video games on the horizon. Those who traditionally played PC games are familiar withDungeons & Dragonslong-time historical role in the video game industry and RPGs on PC, despite a relative absence throughout most of video gaming’s modern history, especially on consoles over the last decade.
Rather,Dungeons & Dragonsappears to be making a major comeback, than an entry, into video gaming. What is new in its current ambitions is its focus on console gaming as well, and not just PC. Throughout the 1990s and into the early millennium,Dungeons & Dragon’sproduced a handful of innovative and top-notch RPGs on PC, most notablyBaldur’s Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, Icewind DaleandPlanescape: Torment.
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After a relative absence from video gaming over the last 10-15 years,Baldur’s Gate 3was announced in October, with seven more games currently in development. This includesDark Alliance, which appears as if it may beDungeons & Dragons’answer toWarhammer’s Vermentide, based on the trailer’s footage of first-person hacking and slashing of endless hordes of enemies.
In aligningBaldur’s Gate 3with current trends in tabletop gaming, the game will be based on the5th Edition ofDungeons & Dragons’ruleset. In many ways, it was the popularity and role-playing standards ofDivinity: Original Sin 2which swayed Wizards of the Coast to backBaldur’s Gate 3.Divinity: Original Sin 2was an important gauge in demonstrating just how much the consumer market demanded an uncompromising digital role-play experience, which can be partly credited forDungeons & Dragons’comeback in video games, or at leastBaldur’s Gate 3.
To a lesser extent,Pillars of Eternityand other recent isometric RPGs, as well as the MMORPG,Neverwinter, have also made important statements for the strong potential attraction for futureDungeons & Dragonsvideo games.
But perhaps one of the boldest statement of all wasDivinity: Original Sin 2’ssuccessand validation on consoles, which won the best RPG of the year award in 2018 at Gamescom. Normally, these type of overhead-camera stat-driven RPGs were traditionally popular and exclusive to PC gamers. Yet,Divinity: Original Sin 2took a victory at Gamescom over other notable RPGs that came out on consoles that year, includingMonster Hunter: World, Ni no Kuni II,andDragon Quest 11. It is no surprise thatDivinity: Original Sin’sdeveloper, Larian Studios, is both publishing and developingBaldur’s Gate3, with Wizards of the Coast backing them.
Partly, the renaissance of theDungeons & Dragon’stabletop and video game ventures are finding common ground thanks to the 5th edition of the tabletop game centering more on storytelling than previous versions, while streamlining the technical aspects of the mechanics and stats. This makes the tabletop game more easily accessible to casual players looking for a social experience, while the more streamlined mechanics and stats can more easily be integrated into video games such asBaldur’s Gate 3, creating an ideal fusion between the two paradigms.
Also, mediums such as YouTube and Twitch are playing a role in establishing common ground between tabletop gaming and video games perhaps. These mediums are popular conduits for both broadcasting video game playing sessions andDungeons & Dragonstabletop campaigns, with popular celebrities and voice actors drawing much attention from viewers online.
Additionally, the traditional fantasy genre, and many of its sub-genres in general, are making a comeback, withDragon Agegiving the genre the jumpstart it needed on the console market a decade ago, andGame of ThronesandThe Witcherbecoming popular television shows.The hit TV show,Stranger Things, also helped bring further attention to theDungeons & Dragonstabletop game, drawing upon a group of characters who play the game and utilize it to better understand the strange anomalies transpiring in their town.
It is possible that both the tabletop and video game paradigms are playing the role of foil for each other, as fantasy and RPG video games are also helping to further popularize theDungeons & Dragonstabletop game. If video games are proving to be fertile soil in feeding the tabletop game, then it would seem like an obvious choice for Wizards of the Coast to plant its own seeds in that soil. It appears the company is indeed doing so, only with a stronger and higher priority than previous efforts a couple decades ago on PC. They are focusing on all major gaming platforms, includingGoogle’s Stadia.
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By makingDungeons & Dragons-themed games for the mainstream video game market across all platforms, the company is helping to fuel both its tabletop and video game markets, providing leverage for each. It appears to be a very ideal fusion between two markets. Also, both video games and the fifth edition of the tabletop version ofDungeons & Dragonsare becoming more focused on creating social experiences, which is also helping to establish this fusion between the two potentially.
For video games, this is established through online gaming communities and their social media counterparts,MMOs, online gaming platforms such as Steam and much more. For the tabletop game, the 5th edition has given the socializing element more precedence over the math-heavy tactile elements of the old, and some people are even playing the tabletop game remotely using online platforms to communicate, and using apps such asRoll20to help facilitate this process.
WhileBaldur’s Gate 3andDark Allianceare the only twoDungeons & Dragon’svideo games that have been given formal announcements, the future ofDungeons & Dragonsvideo games look bright with plenty more heading to the market over the next few years according to Wizards of the Coast. Wizards of the Coast has also clarified that each game will scratch a different itch, providing different types of gameplay experiences that is hopegully ideal for many types of gamers.
This could include card games, open world RPGs, isometric hack-and-slash RPGs, and many more possibilities. This diverse multi-genre approach is different from previous eras, when mostDungeons & Dragon’sgames were isometric turn-based RPGs, which scratched a similar itch in attracting a particular type of player within the realm of PC RPGs during the 1990’s and early millennium.
To date, Wizards of the Coast estimates that there are 40 million people worldwide who are playing its tabletop role-playing game currently, and in 2017, 9 million people observed others play the game on Twitch. While video games have played the role as a popular conduit in sending new players towardsDungeons & Dragons’tabletop role-playing experience, perhaps it remains to be seen how many among the more hardcore base of tabletop players will pick up a controller in order to experienceDungeons & Dragons’video gaming experiences.
This provides ample room forDungeons & Dragonsto attract new types of players to the gaming market who may be looking for unique experiences that currently established video game genres may not present. The sky is the limit, and perhaps, someday, we will even see a fully fleshed out online gaming platform that can facilitate the full experience of the fifth edition of theDungeons & Dragonstabletop game, and fully fuse the two worlds of role-playing in the best ways possible.
