On Dungeons. Also, Dragons.

So I've been listening to the Penny-Arcade/PvP D&D podcast (Shut it, I think it's entertaining), and I guess Wizards of the Coast are getting their desired effect because it makes me want to give it a try. In the meantime I've been trying to find some sort of computer-based surrogate, though with my distaste of Neverwinter Nights and with Pool of Radiance being so ancient it is nearly unplayable I'm limited with very few options.
So I turned to Baldur's Gate 2, another game I openly dislike and, in the face of towering heaps of praise thrown upon it, have comfortably resigned that it is a problem with me rather than the product. Though I have not played it since the release of the demo (A mind-bogglingly gigantic demo for the time, split into seven large files) and perhaps there were mechanics at work that I couldn't fully process at the time, though I would argue I don't believe I've become that much more intelligent since I was 15. The only thing that's grown since then has been my pant size, but I digress. The inclusion of a tutorial in the full version helps, albeit a ridiculously long one, and the interface has not aged well. I don't know the D&D universe all that well and that means I have not memorized spells and their functions, let alone simple icons with caveman-style etchings, so having to go into every specific character's list of spells just to figure out what they do in the middle of a battle is not particularly fun or exciting. It also wasn't until I took a look through the game's ludicrous 266-page manual I learned that having a low Armor Class, which ventures into negative numbers, is actually optimal. Though having gone through the first hour of trying to manage these ancient mechanisms I am almost approaching what some might consider enjoyment.
I'm not sure how I feel about the combat, being in the pausable real-time format, the same BioWare would later use for Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic. Though this speeds it along more than the alternative, it makes it feel a little more like RTS than RPG, especially when you're commanding a whole party at once. I know I'm in a minority with my affinity for turn-based games and I know it would slow things to a snail's pace, but it would create a more, and I'm loathe to say it, authentic experience. They're already doing the dice rolls, like NWN and KotOR, but behind the scenes. Though that's another thought, why hide them?
I know that our little group is more mechanically-minded than others, with character expression and growth taking a backseat to raw math and statistics. "What does more damage?" is a question that often takes greater precedence over "What would my character prefer?" What makes it an entertaining experience is that very tangible aspect of the rolling of physical objects, specifically dice. I can only assume there are other like-minded individuals out there who wouldn't mind having that experience emulated to a digital format, so why hasn't there been a straight-up conversion, turn-based and dice rolls included?
Immediately my mind began to churn away at such a conversion, which I imagine could be easily accomplished, with the same robustness that NWN provided. Turn-based combat on a grid with the dice rolls included, much like a video game version of a board game. I also began to mull over the possibilities of emulating the social aspect of the physical game as well, the experience of a group of friends getting together to play a silly game in a basement where you slaughter goblins (Or Nazis). This is what comes across strongly in those podcasts. A game where in which you create an avatar who in turn you use to create another avatar. I realize that this is encroaching upon World of World of Warcraft territory, but I see potential here. Trying to re-create the mechanics standard D&D gameplay with a sort of home-y aesthetic; Character sheets written in pencil, NPCs (friends) who play the game with varying degrees of seriousness, progression marked not only with how deep you descend into the dungeon but also empty cans of Mountain Dew and discarded Cheetos bags, etc. There could be other potential gameplay mechanics like arguing with the DM or disputes over loot, though that might be a stretch.

At any rate, I think that would be pretty hot.

-K.