What if a Discworld RPG game was made?

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Burp1

New Member
Aug 27, 2019
5
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#1
Something like Baldur's Gate? Something that can give players the chance to experience the world of the Disc in up front POV? Not as in an MMORPG since all the good ideas have been used up in World of Warcraft but a game nevertheless. Should such a game be made?
 

Tonyblack

Super Moderator
City Watch
Jul 25, 2008
30,841
3,650
Cardiff, Wales
#2
This is, I think, something that has been kicked around for many, many years. I don't know what Baldur's Gate is as I am not a gamer. There certainly seems to be an interest in the idea and Terry's daughter is a well known games designer, but it never seems to have kicked off.
 

RathDarkblade

Moderator
City Watch
Mar 24, 2015
15,992
3,400
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Melbourne, Victoria
#4
Tony, Baldur's Gate is a classic computer role-playing game (CRPG), based on the Dungeons & Dragons world. I've never played it, but it was one of the first CRPGs based on D&D and spawned many, many imitators - World of Warcraft is one of the latest (and hammiest - with lots of people waving their arms theatrically and lots of people shouting NOOOOOO!, and similar tropes of melodrama).

Baldur's Gate, on the other hand, is nothing like that. ;)
 

RathDarkblade

Moderator
City Watch
Mar 24, 2015
15,992
3,400
47
Melbourne, Victoria
#6
No problem. :)

Coming back to the point of the thread: Burp1, I don't know if you ever played Neverwinter Nights, but someone (I forget who) tried to create an Ankh-Morpork Watch mod for NWN (the first, not the second). In the mod, you can play a new recruit for the Watch.

I tried it, but it bored the pants off of me - probably because of the incongruity of mixing two different gaming systems and two different worlds (Discworld and D&D).

If you want to try it, and you have a copy of NWN, you might find it at the Neverwinter Vault.

If you don't have a copy of NWN, you can find it at Good Old Games. They regularly have game sales, so you might be able to pick up NWN for less than $10 AUS. (I did). ;)
 

Terramax

Lance-Constable
Dec 27, 2018
18
1,000
#7
I`m a gamer (well, obviously, looking at my avatar)! Honest, no. No JRPG of Pratchett because there would be too much text, and I would be surprised if anyone out there would be capable of writing a ridiculous amount of dialog to the standard of Pratchett`s humour.

Not only that, I wouldn`t want any emphasis on stat-building, fighting, etc. A detective game starring the watch (think LA Noire set in Discworld) would probably be more appropriate.

Having said that, Chris Bateman has mentioned that, if his company were to be successful enough, he does plan to contact Rhianna one day with the prospect of making another game either within the Discworld universe, or a spiritual successor to DW Noir.
 

Ignisis

Lance-Constable
Aug 8, 2020
49
600
49
#9
Oh dear uhm... I was guildmistress in Wow for decennia and I played Lotro for a big while. I don't think an RPG of Mr. Pratchett would work, it does not fit the style. RPG is about gear and fighting bad guys while his books is more focussed on social activities and how the parody is as it is.

What I think would be interesting from the point of view of a game is something like "Myst". Where you need to solve a puzzle upon a puzzle to open up new doors inside the inception of the parody with a great sense of humor ofc ^^;

uhm... C. Bateman I need to have a look at his books. Dang that is insanely interesting. I studied Iconology you see so this is some find. Ty for hands up!!
 
#10
A puzzle point-and-click adventure, like, say, Discworld ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_(video_game) ) or Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_II:_Missing_Presumed...!? ) or Discworld Noir ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_Noir ) ?

All these came out in the 90s but unfortunately they are essentially abandonware now as the companies that made them have collapsed, it's unsure who owns the rights, and the point-and-click adventure market which was once pretty big is now a tiny niche...

(The first two can be found online playable via emulators, if you're willing to look. If you still have the original files, you can use ScummVM to play them as well. Discworld Noir, however, I've never got working on any system newer than Windows 98)
 

Ignisis

Lance-Constable
Aug 8, 2020
49
600
49
#11
I need to find more time in the day ... I'll have a looksee into that Molokov :love: much apreciated for the infos. I hope I can make it runable!
 

RathDarkblade

Moderator
City Watch
Mar 24, 2015
15,992
3,400
47
Melbourne, Victoria
#12
You can play either Discworld 1 or Discworld 2 with ScummVM. :) This is a system created specifically to allow you to play (some) old games. It's a little tricky to set up, but there are many clear instructions on their website.

As for Discworld Noir -- that's a little trickier. However, I have found a way. If you're interested, please feel free to PM me - I have the instructions saved in a text file, plus a file you need to replace one of the Discworld Noir files with.

Molokov, what is your view on abandonware? The last I heard, it was illegal.
 
#13
Copyright law is a weird thing - it's certainly been skewed well beyond its original purpose, and the fact that there's stuff that's 100 years old that is not yet in the public domain is... well, wrong.

But computer games that are 20-30 years old are still well within a reasonable timeframe for copyright protection, but, as with movies, books, music and more, it's good if the media is *available* - either copyright holders should allow it to be sold or licensed, or they should release older stuff for free.

Abandonware falls in that grey area - the media (video games) are still technically under copyright, but the rights are owned by a business that no longer exists, so there's no way they can be made legitimately available for a reasonable price. Technology also comes into it. At least there's places like Good Old Games (GOG) who put in a lot of effort to make old games work on current technology and they work with rights holders so that the games can still be sold.

So yeah... it's kind of an odd place to be. That being said, Discworld 1 & 2 are available via archive.org, and I *think* that's legit.
 

Azh#oo8

Lance-Constable
Mar 14, 2021
34
100
36
#14
Something like Baldur's Gate? Something that can give players the chance to experience the world of the Disc in up front POV? Not as in an MMORPG since all the good ideas have been used up in World of Warcraft but a game nevertheless. Should such a game be made?
Just posted some pics and vids of my VR Discworld. In the new users thread..
 

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