Doctor Who and the lack of good games

[AlterAstolfo]

It occurred to me when watching a Doctor Who fan lament over there being a massive lack good Doctor Who games - that this series really does seem to almost completely and utterly be neglected in this medium. And the strangest part is a time travelling space opera adventure story with a infinitely customisable main character who can be anyone and anything aka the Doctor, would be almost the perfect set up to a RPG. Look at Witcher and how it managed to take a set character and spawn it into this huge RPG series. And then we look at something where literally a 'regeneration' and bang we have all the options in the world for a player customised doctor.

And with a story spanning across different time zones, worlds and so on you could easily just place the TARDIS as the stand in for the Fallout MAP or Ebon Hawk and have a pretty easily constructed mystery based breadcrumb across several scenarios as the Doctor and his companions (so the NPCS that join the Doctor along the way) face off against Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, the Master and so on.

Its so strange that this hasn't happen let, I know the BBC is kind of regarded but this is the biggest missed opportunity of science fiction game tie ins I can think off.

 

[Jarpie]

Doctor Who would've made a great point'n'click adventure game, especially in the 90s style. CRPG would be harder as The Doctor rarely used violence and he avoided using weapons, unless you play as some other Time Lord.

 

[ind33d]

It occurred to me when watching a Doctor Who fan lament over there being a massive lack good Doctor Who games - that this series really does seem to almost completely and utterly be neglected in this medium. And the strangest part is a time travelling space opera adventure story with a infinitely customisable main character who can be anyone and anything aka the Doctor, would be almost the perfect set up to a RPG. Look at Witcher and how it managed to take a set character and spawn it into this huge RPG series. And then we look at something where literally a 'regeneration' and bang we have all the options in the world for a player customised doctor.

And with a story spanning across different time zones, worlds and so on you could easily just place the TARDIS as the stand in for the Fallout MAP or Ebon Hawk and have a pretty easily constructed mystery based breadcrumb across several scenarios as the Doctor and his companions (so the NPCS that join the Doctor along the way) face off against Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, the Master and so on.

Its so strange that this hasn't happen let, I know the BBC is kind of regarded but this is the biggest missed opportunity of science fiction game tie ins I can think off.

why aren't there doctor who games about exploring the galaxy and being a hero? why would a prison planet inform its detainees that magic is real? are you an idiot?

 

[lukaszek]

why make a game about trying to use screwdriver on everything?

 

[Jaesun]

You would have to deal with the license holder, fees and all the other demands from them to do a game with that setting. That's probably the biggest obstacle. Way better off just doing your own game in your own setting.

 

[Fedora Master]

You certainly wouldn't want a modern Dr Who game.

 

[Daemongar]

Doctor Who would've made a great point'n'click adventure game, especially in the 90s style. CRPG would be harder as The Doctor rarely used violence and he avoided using weapons, unless you play as some other Time Lord.

I'm reminded of attempts to make games out of "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" on this one. Creative worlds, environments, and storylines are great - but do not necessarily make for a crpg.

Then again, the original Dr. Who RPG was so good, well, why make another?

 

[Modron]

Doctor Who would've made a great point'n'click adventure game, especially in the 90s style. CRPG would be harder as The Doctor rarely used violence and he avoided using weapons, unless you play as some other Time Lord.

They made several 3D point and clicks in the early 2010s (which you probably can't buy anymore) and were planning to make more.
https://www.mobygames.com/group/18445/doctor-who-the-adventure-games-series/

 

[Jarpie]

Doctor Who would've made a great point'n'click adventure game, especially in the 90s style. CRPG would be harder as The Doctor rarely used violence and he avoided using weapons, unless you play as some other Time Lord.

They made several 3D point and clicks in the early 2010s (which you probably can't buy anymore) and were planning to make more.
https://www.mobygames.com/group/18445/doctor-who-the-adventure-games-series/

Looks like they were very average based on the ratings, which doesn't surprise me.

 

[rumSaint]

Why do you think Dr Whos space ship is called TARDis? Dr Who is so boring and retarded it exist only as a series and didn't spew itself into other media (thank God). Not to mention recent iteration full on woke copium (of course worst and the most failed).

The only way it could work would be some kind of adventure game. No violence, weapons (god forbid knives). But no one makes these nowadays.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Its so strange that this hasn't happen let, I know the BBC is kind of regarded but this is the biggest missed opportunity of science fiction game tie ins I can think off.

Although there have been several attempts at creating a pen-and-paper Doctor Who RPG, these ultimately foundered on the nature of this IP, which is not suited for character progression (though it can accommodate the other character-related RPG aspects, namely character customization, equipment, and inventory), has extremely limited combat, and is also generally lacking in exploration. As noted by earlier posters, Doctor Who is better suited to the adventure game genre, since this is focused on puzzle-solving and can easily integrate a railroaded story similar to the television multi-episode stories. However, it seems the BBC (unsurprisingly) missed the opportunity to create Doctor Who adventure games while this genre was relatively popular (not helped by having cancelled the series in 1989), and there would be little commercial purpose in attempting to do so today.

 

[AlterAstolfo]

You certainly wouldn't want a modern Dr Who game.

Well I would probably go towards a middle ground roughly trying to aim for the Indiana Jones, Alien Isolation, Robocop and Terminator movie games.

So capture the magic of the show, and grab the nostalgia crowd.

 

[AlterAstolfo]

You would have to deal with the license holder, fees and all the other demands from them to do a game with that setting. That's probably the biggest obstacle. Way better off just doing your own game in your own setting.

Oh no this isn't a I'm gonna do it more just a discussion. I think it's a missed opportunity as if BBC made one today it be likely destroyed by the BBC itself.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

It is surprising. I don't think an RPG would work. Maybe an adventure with controls and gameplay like Allen Wake but with environments and progression more similar to Psychonauts. Instead of jumping into peoples minds, you hop into the Tardis to improbable timelines and alien worlds.