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'Dungeons & Dragons' Faces Future Online

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by ILPhinFan88, Apr 1, 2008.

  1. ILPhinFan88

    ILPhinFan88 Premium Member Luxury Box

    NEW YORK (AP) - It must be tough to be 34 and already see your children overshadow you.

    That's what's happened to "Dungeons & Dragons," the roleplaying game that for decades has drawn geeks to roll dice and pretend to be elves, sorcerers and other fantasy heroes. It has never quite become mainstream entertainment, but it has inspired roleplaying computer games like "World of Warcraft" to borrow its principles and turn them into a multibillion-dollar industry.

    Now, D&D is borrowing from its imitators. The next edition of the game, due out in June, will for the first time be paired with online features that the publisher hopes will lure lapsed players back to the dungeon.

    "That group that broke up in 1987 because you all graduated from high school and went to schools across the country? Well, you can get that old teenage group back together," said Scott Rouse, brand manager for D&D at Wizards of the Coast. The Hasbro Inc. (HAS) (HAS) subsidiary publishes the game.


    Roleplayers have always faced the difficulty of getting together regularly, especially since the games are lengthy. But they talk warmly about the camaraderie fostered by the games, since the players cooperate rather than compete. Though guided by thick rulebooks, the games have an element of theater, with players using the voices of their characters. Not surprisingly, they're considered uncool by those who lack an appreciation of fantasy.

    The new edition, the fourth since D&D was created in 1974, may do nothing for the game's social stigma, but at least players will have the option to commune online. Each screen will show the same virtual 3-D "tabletop" with monsters and heroes, and the players will be able to talk via Internet voice chat.

    Wizards is also building its own social networking site as a Facebook or MySpace for gamers. The players will be able to create fantasy characters for themselves with an online tool. That streamlines a process that can take hours and dozens of reference books.



    http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20080401/D8VPA71O1.html
     
    ChrisKo likes this.
  2. ChrisKo

    ChrisKo Season Ticket Holder

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    Ya that's right, I thanked you. I'm a freaking geek, so get off my *** already!
     
    peastri likes this.
  3. peastri

    peastri iD'Artiste Luxury Box

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    I haven't played pencil and paper D&D in a long, long time thanks to rpgs on consoles... but thinking back those were some good times...
     

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