I'm completely ignorant of what D&D is and so I'll run my mouth.
You'd be surprised since Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson were both Christians. Staunchly at that. Let me show you how wrong you are with the TSR Code of Ethics circa 1984.
Point 4. All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome scenes, depravity, lust, sadism, and masochism shall not be permitted.
Point 6. Profanity, obscenity/smut, vulgarity or words or symbols which have aquired undesirable meanings - judged by contemporary standards - are prohibited.
I draw your attention to point 10. Nudity in any form is prohibited. Suggestive and salacious scenes are unacceptable.
Point 11. Illicit sex relations are not to be portrayed or discussed and sexual abnormalities are unacceptable.
Point 12. Rape or seduction are never to be portrayed or discussed.
Notice point 13. It clearly says Sex perversion or any inference to same is strictly forbidden.
So you just lied about what is D&D. 6 of 13 points says that you're a goddamn liar.
Did you have anything intelligent to add that actually pertains to the history of the D&D game?
Well, in that case BG/BG2 had
already screwed the pooch (so to speak
![Smile :) :)](/forums/smiles/icon_smile.gif)
) and this game is just a further slide down the slippery slope.
You should play this though James, there is some fun to be had with it - it's 70% well done responsive virtual world with great moments of immersion, 30% degenerate trash, something like that. It's more a good game than it is bad, and the good bits are sometimes very good indeed, fully as good (relative to time) as the BGs.
I think the reason why this is a hit is the same reason why the BGs were breakout hits - at its best, the CRPG is an adventure simulator and a
gesamtkunstwerk (a total work of art using various different artistic forms), and the better the graphics the better that can be brought out. Because we can't yet have realtime (holodeck-like) simulation, we make do with abstraction, and abstraction has its own intrinsic charms, but fundamentally the holodeck is what most people really want, and CRPGs are occasional hits the closer they inch to that every few generations.
And as to the 5e issue, yeah it's streamlined, and yeah I like the quasi-simulationist intricacy of the older systems, but there's something to be said for combat that flows quickly and smoothly too. It depends on how you look at it, and sometimes just what mood you're in. Well it is for me anyway, I like all sorts of games and take them for what they are.