Tiny Adventures: D&D on the Webz

Spike · November 02, 2009, 03:14:38 PM

So, having heard of this 'facebook app' here on the RPGsite, and having a facebook account that was essentially gathering dust, I went ahead and tracked it down and started it up.

One of the serious complaints I've heard about it is that it uses fourth Edition mechanics.

THese people lie.

Oh, certainly it is BASED on 4e, but to say it uses D&D mechanics at all is rather disengenious.

You do not roll up a character but select one of roughly 20 pregens (weird mixes by the way....) and you appear to start with a rusty dagger and 'adventureing cloths' and a couple of healing potions.

More to the point, you pretty much adventure solo, there is a 10 minute (roughly) timer between 'events', with no option to rest and heal, and every 'event' on an adventure is resolved with a single die roll, wether its combat, crossing a dangerous bridge or talking to a farmer for a side quest.

There are no graphics, no 'sprites' running around, no daily, encouter or at will powers... in fact I'd say its like the old 'Zork' like adventures, but even that's a lie: there isn't any choices to be made.

What do I expect for free on a facebook app?
Good question. But hey: given the NATURE of 4e mechanics you'd think they could be at least as 'graphicy' as, oh... farmville! 4e appears to be perfect for simple computer based applications, what with its limited list of powers available, everything based in a simple grid based mechanic and so forth and predetermined map based encounters.

Its not horrible, but its not really D&D, of any edition.

Tommy Brownell · November 02, 2009, 05:06:32 PM

Quote from: Spike;341815What do I expect for free on a facebook app?
Good question. But hey: given the NATURE of 4e mechanics you'd think they could be at least as 'graphicy' as, oh... farmville!

You just said it yourself...there are a ton of free facebook apps that at least offer you CHOICES or SOME kind of interaction with the app. I did Tiny Adventures for about a day and then forgot about it.

Abyssal Maw · November 02, 2009, 05:07:34 PM

Quote from: Spike;341815Its not horrible, but its not really D&D, of any edition.

No, it's just a facebook app. It isn't meant as a standalone game.

However, it has been pretty effective at marketing the idea of adventurers and encounters and hit points and AC in a Mob Wars limited actions per turn web-app style fashion.

Bradford C. Walker · November 02, 2009, 05:09:30 PM

It's Progress Quest with a D&D skin. The only challenge is in how fast you can run through PCs and going for top scores.

Abyssal Maw · November 02, 2009, 05:16:42 PM

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;341840It's Progress Quest with a D&D skin. The only challenge is in how fast you can run through PCs and going for top scores.

Pretty much, there's an iron man mode, and each generation unlocks new abilities (when you hit 10th) so you restart after 10th level with slightly different options, but the entire point is to post your character, and also to buff and heal your FB friends' characters.

Spike · November 02, 2009, 05:28:01 PM

Quote from: Abyssal Maw;341846Pretty much, there's an iron man mode, and each generation unlocks new abilities (when you hit 10th) so you restart after 10th level with slightly different options, but the entire point is to post your character, and also to buff and heal your FB friends' characters.

If 'Iron Man' means what I think it means, well... I'd never get past the first quest, much lest first level. I averaged a whopping 7.3 on my d20 rolls (up to about 9 now...), despite an early natural 20.

I don't imagine it will hold my attention long either, but since its been discussed here in other threads I thought I'd post a thread about my observations. Sounds like some of you know a lot more about it than I do (progress quest? the words make sense but you are using it as a proper noun...)

Age of Fable · November 06, 2009, 10:50:54 PM

Progress Quest is a satire of online games: once you create a character you have no choices, or even input, the 'adventures' just happen automatically.

I recently tried the new Zork game. It had good graphics, and they presumably spent some money to get the name. But as far as I could see there were no meaningful choices in the game. You just clicked to go into the forest, and it told you you'd fought a particular monster and found some treasure. Then you click to go back to town and spend the treasure, and presumably repeat.

Does this actually work? Do people enjoy playing these things? I guess they must, because there are several such games that you see heavily advertised around the place.

Abyssal Maw · November 08, 2009, 11:20:49 AM

Quote from: Age of Fable;342546Does this actually work? Do people enjoy playing these things? I guess they must, because there are several such games that you see heavily advertised around the place.

Facebook games (a certain major genre, anyhow) are "lunchbreak" style things which are based on "playing" for about 5-10 minutes, and then letting it go off on it's own without you checking in. You check in the next day or a few hours later to see what happened. This is what drives Mafia/Mob Wars, Castle Age, and even the more graphically oriented Playfish type games (Restaurant City, Farm Town, whatever). Some of these are massively popular and successful games by the way, with players numbering in the millions.

So the answer is yes, but you have to understand the difference in expectations.