Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition goes interactive

contents

software

With the death earlier this year of Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the world's most iconic games became front page news around the world. With a following of over 25 million players worldwide since its conception in the 70s, Dungeons & Dragons has brought the magic and mystery of fantasy roleplaying to a global audience which includes celebrities such as Vin Diesel and Robin Williams. June 7th sees the global launch of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition with the addition of a new online, interactive element, allowing traditional play formats to be enhanced with unique web tools and content. DDI (D&D Interactive) is a suite of tools being rolled out with the launch of 4E, designed to make managing the game a bit easier, and allowing fans to play with one another remotely. The service includes some free elements, as well as some elements available as part of a paid subscription.

Among the elements are:
- Two online magazines (Dragon and Dungeon), which have been published as paper magazines for 30 years but are now moving online. Dragon has traditionally been focused on the game and the players, while Dungeon is focused on dungeons, adventures, and being a Dungeon Master (DM).
- A rules database that allows you to look up rules, powers, classes, creatures, and so on, to be updated with the release of each new supplement.
- A character generator that allows you to build, advance, manage, and maintain your character. It autofills character features from the rules database, and you can print out your character as a conventional character sheet.
- A digital tabletop that allows the DM to build a dungeon or other environment and then control the movement of virtual miniatures on it. Along with voice chat and other features, it allows players to play the game over the internet, as well as share their dungeons and adventures with other gamers.
- A very sophisticated character visualizer that allows you to create 3D models of your characters. These can then be used as illustrations on your character sheet, exported if you just want a cool picture, or converted into a custom virtual mini of your character for use on the digital tabletop.

write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Computing News :: home page