Well, they did it. It looks like the VTT has survived!
I had long ago assumed we would never see it. As someone who focuses on what we have as opposed to what we don’t, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It would have been nice, but we move on, you know? But, then came the announcement this morning that not only is it still in the works, it in fact will be going into closed beta on Nov 22 for those lucky enough to get invites.
I have never needed to run games online. I have 5 D&D players within walking distance of my house, and the rest aren’t much farther away than that. With that said, playing a D&D game online is something I have always wanted to try. There have been ways do this of course, via skype and various programs that can be found online. In fact, myself and a friend/co-worker are building a quick battle map maker called “BattleMAP’R” in part for people using those systems (of course the key feature is the ability to quickly build and print your maps for use at the table).
What this will really do for someone like me (who can play plenty of games at home) is give me the opportunity to play with others I only know through the online community – people I may never see face to face, but whom I want to experience games with.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to this as many others are that I know.
- See the official Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Table Announcement here!
- Read the FAQ here
- Discuss it here
I’m still looking forward to future enhancements to your BattleMAP’R. I still like miniatures and tabletop maps. The VT looks cool and all, but I already have ideas for how I want to use your map tool!
And I don’t know that the WotC tool will allow for anything other than their pre-defined tilesets anyway. They’re cool, but they don’t cover every possible terrain. Just this last weekend I rolled out the ol’ trusty battle mat because neither of WotC’s “woodland” tilesets include basic sparse forest tiles. You either get DENSE trees, or a couple trees. Nothing in-between.
Is it bad that I want to play with just because it’s there?
I haven’t ventured into virtual gaming yet. However, as I get older and the lives of my gaming friends and I become more filled with family and career responsibilities, it gets harder to schedule play time. Also, I often have the itch to play or run one-off adventures to test various game concepts or charcter builds that an ongoing campaign doesn’t allow me to. I am hoping that the beta goes smoothly and that the VT helps the DDI community to connect through play. It’s one thing to discuss something in a forum thread. Imagine if you could just load up the VT and test drive your mechanical debate or latest character concept! Imagine how much more fun it will be to play with each other instead of just posting at each other.
Personally, I am hoping the VT will let me get into pick up games when I have a few spare hours. An MMO is alright, but when I sit down to game, the game I want is D&D. The benchmark of any video game RPG for me is how well it lines up with themes and concepts from D&D. Now, it looks like we will have access to real D&D, online on-demand. I’m sure the usual Pick Up Group scariness will apply from time to time, but having the opportunity to play D&D on my own schedule with whoever is looking to get in on a game at that particular time, instead of needing to co-ordinate the schedules of my long time gaming group, sounds like a win. Nothing replaces the live play experience, but I have high hopes for my persoanl experiences with the VT.
Can’t wait for the stream of posts etc on the beta test process.