D&D’s virtual tabletop is off to a slow start, but designers say that’s very much the point

polygon.com:

Last summer, Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast revealed something truly ambitious — a virtual tabletop (VTT) custom-built for playing D&D online. This will be no simple top-down experience with flat maps and tokens. Instead, Wizards is building its VTT in Unreal Engine 5, the latest and greatest multiplatform suite designed for video game, TV, and motion picture development. I went to Seattle for a hands-on demonstration of a very early pre-alpha version of that software, and while the project is still in its earliest stages, what I found was promising.

Even in its current form, the D&D VTT works surprisingly well for a session played in person. Sitting behind a large gaming laptop, I was still able to engage easily with the other players and the Dungeon Master at the table. Using a mouse, I could reach into the scene and move my miniature around freely — just like I can in a physical game. With all its rich textures, sophisticated lighting, and simulated physics, the VTT absolutely shines compared to even the best, most high-end tabletop terrain available on the market today. The interface that surrounds it is light and relatively fast. It looks attractive, and it has just the right amount of automation for both Dungeon Masters and players.

In motion, the digital aspect of it all almost melts away. Even though I was using a computer, it still felt like traditional D&D. But it’s still very much a hinky work in progress, with just a single map and a collection of digital renders of licensed miniatures by WizKids. In fact, not all of them are even colored in yet.

There’s clearly still plenty of work to be done, including the online component. That’s why developers are being careful not to get too far ahead