Dungeons & Dragons Online Q&A

Gamecloud has conducted an interview with Turbine’s Ken Troop, in which the lead designer answers several questions about their upcoming MMORPG, Dungeons & Dragons Online. Here we go:

Q: Why do you think D&D Online will stand out from the crowd of upcoming MMO game titles?

A: Most importantly we’re not trying to be a MMO. We’re a great and fun online D&D experience most of our design decisions flow from that goal. To be a great D&D game is why our adventuring spaces are instanced private playgrounds for you and your Party where you don’t have to worry about interference or grief from strangers (can you imagine a tabletop D&D session be if random strangers came wandering by and started throwing your dice around? To be a great D&D game is why XP in D&D Online comes from solving adventures and dungeons and quests, not from killing the same monster over and over. (DM: Ok, where do you guys want to go next? Player: Well, I’m just going to stay here and wait for that orc to respawn. If I kill him 1,000 more times, I’ll get my next bubble!) And to be a great D&D game is why we take you straight to the action, so you can spend your time playing and adventuring, not running for half your time just to get where you want to go.

Tedium is too often a large component of MMO play.artificial time sinks put in to lengthen the subscription experience. D&D Online eliminates that tedium by focusing on the core D&D gameplay — creating your D&D character and going on adventures with your friends.