DnD vs Video Games

[thedeadlyassassin]

Okay, me and my roommate were having a conversation that makes us look like two complete lowlife morons but what the hell. He says DnD is better than video games. I say "No you're a moron, seeing an army crush your opponents is way better than hearing about it"


So Cain's Lair. Let's hear the argument.


What is better Dungeons and Dragons. Or video games.

Since WoW is like DnD (or so I hear), Let's make it a bit more simple


What is better, DnD or WoW?

Personally I hate both, but I'm much happier playing WoW than that one time I tried DnD and got raped by a chicken because the host thought it'd be funny.

[Sirex]

Some people like to imagine whats happening.
Others like to be shown.

Its all personal preference rather than whats better.

Prob find your room mate reads a lot, or draw or is very creative.

[Rand{CLR}]

Depends on what edition of D & D he is talking about, and what video games. 4th Edition of D & D absolutely, positively blows. I finally borrowed the three core books recently from the Library, and gave up on a full read in absolute disgust at how poorly designed it was and how obvious Wizards of the Coast was being in trying to squeeze every last dime out of their player base--going go far as to almost require the use of costly miniatures in gameplay (including basing a simple concept such as movement on miniatures squares), and hawking their soon-to-be-pay online service at every chance. Not to mention that all the core books are $40.00 each.

I'm a fan of the Forgotten Realms because of how rich the world and history were, and they completely gutted it in so many ways it's not funny--including advancing the timeline 100 or so years, killing off more than half the gods in the meantime, summarizing those 100 years in ONE PARAGRAPH where they just posted a 120 page timeline of history last year, smashing two worlds into one (literally), and shortening all the summaries of their major areas into two pages each. Anyone defending 4th edition as better than video games needs to have their heads checked.

Third edition was a lot better, but I did not like the money grab that was 3.5, released a scant 2-3 years after Version 3. However, Version 2 of the game was spectacular, rich in its options and worlds, built upon a grand history of play, and the high point of the game. A good DM can weave a tale that immerses the players.

Most video games are shear garbage. Maybe 1 in 10 titles is worth something, 1 in 20 are outright good, and 1 in 100 are brilliant. The shear numbers of games released really bring down the overall average. They are often short, they are by and large impossible or extremely difficult to build upon and expand (the modder community only has a selection of games to work with--those with the tools released to work on them--and only so many modders out), and often provide less value for the money than D & D (10 hours for a $50 game far too often).

In terms of being able to impact the world, add to it, expand it, the only thing close to D & D are Muds. From that sense, D & D wins. You're only limited by imagination, and you don't have to decipher complex code. A Class AAA game is better than D & D in almost all ways, and games are easier to pick up, easier to pause, and require fewer players in one spot.

In the end, it largely comes down to personal preference and the quality of a video game vs. that of your Dungeon Master. Both are valid forms of entertainment.

-Rand

P.S. I'm not bothering with a WoW comparison. I avoid playing that game like the plague. Anyway, it's a PRIME example of expandability. Normal folks are not contributing to the WORLD of WoW, whereas a Dungeon Master can easily expand his world. As a creative type, that to me is a gigantic advantage.

[TEAMKILLERZ]

All I can say is. Warhammer beats all. I am that game is literal army crushing action with city sieges all kind of stuff I feel like it is epic in EVERYWAY.

[RyeWhiskey]

That was a good post Rand. I remember playing it when there were still 1st edition books around quite a bit and 2nd edition was just starting. In HS I played it a lot, it was a blast. Hours wasted away using graph paper and getting characters advanced in a good story. Sad to hear it has gone so south after all these years.

I remember the Spelljammer universe when it first came out, man that was great, Greyhawk the older Forgotten realm. Good memories there. lol.

[K PhaNTOM]

What the heck is DnD?

[{CLR} Naillik]

What the heck is DnD?

Do you ever read the first post?? lol

[K PhaNTOM]

Do you ever read the first post?? lol

never noticed Dungeons and Dragons but how is that more fun than video games? lol they are incomparable...

[Rand{CLR}]

never noticed Dungeons and Dragons but how is that more fun than video games? lol they are incomparable...

So that must be why there are at least 2 dozen games built on the Dungeons and Dragons role playing sytem? That's why there is an RPG Genre to begin with, considering just about every computerized role playing game ever made can trace its inspiration to Dungeons and Dragons? Ok.

-Rand

[thedeadlyassassin]

lol If I made an MMORPG or RPG, I'd make it because the other ones don't have everything I want. If I had a ton of money, I'd make an MMORPG built how I want.

But Rand has a point there. How can someone suddenly start saying "hey we should make a game based on real life where you're a character but can adventure and fight demons and stuff" and than spend a bunch of money to make it an mmorpg like WoW or RuneScape or Guild Wars? DnD can be played without much of the stuff I hear, making it cheap to start.

Without DnD there'd be no WoW or GW or RS.

Oh well I can live with that

[TEAMKILLERZ]

You know what weird? I joined a club in my highschool thats hosted by my band teacher that will play DnD occasionally

[thedeadlyassassin]

Well what do you expect from a teacher who teaches band?

[{CLR}geneSW]

What the heck is DnD?

I have a picture for this somewhere... let me find it... Ah here it is...

[JohnyRico]

I don't really think you can say one is better than the other because in many ways they are a completely different experience.

D&D is a social endeavor. It may only be socializing between chunky geeks consuming mass quantities of cheetos and Mt. Dew but it is definately social. There is more interaction between 5 guys sitting around a table trying to roll 20's in a single hour than there is in a month of VOIP chatter in bf2 and and a years typing in cod4. The gameplay is far more in depth and depending on the DM and your friends it can a great way to spend some time.

Video games are more immediately rewarding and instant gratification based. Even the steepest learning curves in a video game are nothing compared to working your way through a firefight in 1st edition Shadowrun. But video games can be played by one person just passing some time in Civ4 or fragging away in any random shooter without needing to round up the whole gang of regulars.

I may have spent 100 times more hours playing video games that table top RPG's but I remember the elation when my 15th level Kensai finally killed off an NPC Duelist/Bounty Hunter that our DM had been plaguing the group with for a year WAAAYYYY more than my best game of BF2142.

[thedeadlyassassin]

Well one thing I don't get is when I played RuneScape and posted about it, a lot of people mocked me and called me a little kid. But seeing that a lot of you are grown men and defending DnD... I just don't get it.

RuneScape is basically the MMORPG video game of DnD. The only problem is it has a bit of "kiddyness" to it, but also has some good adult humor. Not to mention some of my greatest times, like what Johnyrico said, were on RuneScape getting 99 hunter. Much better than a round where I nearly got 100 kills in 2142 or BF2.