I haven't played table top RPGs in years but one aspect I recall having a lot of fun with was the actual process of rolling dice--especially in dire combat situations which usually involved much superstition, prayer and cursing of fate.

Has any CRPGs ever implemented in-game UI that let you throw virtual dice? I could see a system that let you "shake" the dice, throw them onto the screen, maybe even (via a sort of gesture-clicking system) put "english" on them. Obviously this sort of game would need to be more light-hearted than a serious RPG bent on immersing you in the world, and would probably benefit from this being an optional feature. But I wonder if it would add a sense of "doing something" or having some sense of control when facing challenges.


Thoughts?

Thoughts?

I'm currently playing through The Witcher 2, and there's a poker mini-game which lets you throw dice. What's nice is when using a controller instead of pressing a button to throw the dice, you shake the analogue stick - so it feels like you're actually controlling the outcome - you can even roll the same number with only a slight twitch. I haven't played the keyboard and mouse version, but I'm sure the mouse is used to provide a more natural input to the roll.

I do like feeling I have control - even if the result is just pseudo randomly generated, it's still enjoyable.

I think it would be a very nice touch to a game to be able to flick a stick, or make a gesture to roll the die. But then again it could become an annoyance as well. When games tend to take a long turn of repeditive motion you start to lose interest, think Mario Party games. Esentially the idea is fantastic as the game revolves around moving around the control with unique controls. Then on the other hand you have Wario Ware for the Wii, where its a limit set of action, which then become annoying and repeating the same controls over and over to the point where your just like bleh.

I am sure a flick stick method would be good, especially if modifiers exsisted like a half rotate could change the angle of the die approach giving more of a sense of control on the die, thus replicating the way you would throw the die in real life. Doing something like this even though you could psuedo the outcome, could make users feel like they actually have an important role in throwing the dice.

-Mayple

Iphone apps based on the Fighting Fantasy books implement something like this. You shake the phone as though shaking the dice in your hand. When you stop the dice roll. There is also a touch to roll option if you get annoyed by having to use gestures.

I think unless you are directly making a computer version of an existing non-computer game that uses dice (like Yahtzee) where the dice are really the center of the game, then simulating dice roll is kind of an anachronism. You roll dice in real life to generate random numbers, which a computer can do a lot faster and more easily. You wouldn't also simulate sharpening your pencil every once in a while in your crpg.

Another thing to consider is that I've played Risk-clones on the computer that make you sit there and watch the dice roll every time, which is cool the first dozen or so times, but becomes extremely tedious after the novelty has worn off.

I think in the right context (the example given of an dice game within the game in the Witcher is a good one) this would be fine. However, for the actual core game mechanics it would be an annoying, immersion breaking, game-flow breaking anachronism, and as JeffL says, it would get tired very fast.

For me the only time I have seen dice being played in a rpg was in the game Sukoden or Breath of Fire 3 or 4. The dice game was actually a gambling game.

Three or five die were shook into a bowl. The higher the numbers or combinations of 1's or 5's or a straight was the money pot or reward. Can't really remember how it worked but It was an interesting idea, fun and addicting.

The only thing I can come up with rolling die in an rpg would be pretty much be playing a clone dnd. Actions, chances, attacking , defending. The normal stuff in a dnd pnp game but in a video game format.

Other ideas would be using dice in a rpg would pretty much creating a real time strategy game and using the dice to see how far you can move with on die etc.

Another idea that came to me is. What if the die or dice were a gambler's weapon? Like using them as a Bolas weapon or ball in chain or a two sided hammer for a exotic weapon?

The 6 sided die weapon starts from 1 and ends in 6 for the highest value in the attack and defense range?

4 sided die
6 sided die
8 sided die
9 sided die
10 sided die
12 sided die
20 sided die
30 sided die
100 sided die

Or you can create weapons with the throw of the die and whatever the value of the attack or defense is, thats the what is created for whatever the weapon you wanted to create?

Each weapon or even armor can be created or bought for a chance of the throw of the die? There could also be sub levels per level upgrades. Like for an example Level 1 Die Hammer Lv. 1 - 1 to Lvl 1 - 6?

Just some ideas.

Another idea that came to me is. What if the die or dice were a gambler's weapon? Like using them as a Bolas weapon or ball in chain or a two sided hammer for a exotic weapon?

The 6 sided die weapon starts from 1 and ends in 6 for the highest value in the attack and defense range?

That's actually been done before.

In Final Fantasy 6, there are two dice-type weapons for the gambler character to use. One is a pair of six-sided dice, the other is a set of three six-sided dice - when he attacks with them, the dice are rolled onscreen and the total determines the damage multiplier for that attack.

...well ..just my 2 cents, but I always found dices in a game annoying and skipped them whenever I could.

I might give the player an option to display a dice roll animation in the playing area for the sake of suspense, but for an RPG I can't see the time spent developing a controlled dice rolling system being worth the use it would get. In particular, if the roll is still randomly generated then the shaking and english are just "fluff" that will eventually be ignored in games that require hundreds or thousands of rolls during a play session. If they are not randomly generated but instead depend on how the player shakes them and/or the type of spin he puts on them, then the game becomes one of repeating the control movements required to get the ideal dice roll. Competitive people with a lot of time on their hands will always find a way in these cases to shift probabilities drastically in their favor in the long-run and undermine the balance of your game. IMO.