I admit that the episode was a bit of a missed opportunity. The first half made it feel as though it was intended to be longer than 20 minutes; the pacing was a bit slower and more of a buildup, but when we got to the actual dungeon part, everything was rushed to fit into the 20 minutes limit.
What really disappointed me was that the infinity dice was effectively only used ONCE. When Stanford described it as being capable of giving any imaginable result, I felt that the episode is going to become a Jumanji-style wild ride of random result upon random result, but still within some tangible rules. Instead, the dice was just used to bring the villain into the story and then be conveniently forgotten until the wrap-up at the very end; the game itself was just a random "make up any random story with no rules to speak of" nonsense that doesn't really resemble any actual game, other than some kids running around and pretending whatever story comes into their heads.
Seriously, Dexter's Laboratory did its D&D episode better. In the "D&DD" episode, the game that the characters were playing actually resembled an actual game, with us getting a look into what's happening in both everyone's imagination and on the table. Then, it was juxtaposed with Dee Dee coming in and throwing any dice rolling and Dark & Edgy storyline out of the window, instead going for a words-only pure Monty Haul. It's funny, nicely paced, and manages to get the idea just right in only 10 minutes. Then again, Dexter's Laboratory was never particularly serious or story-driven to begin with, something that Gravity Falls has in abundance...
I did like the bonding between Dipper and Stanford though, and the clear promise of the infinity dice being used in a future episode. Really, this episode seemed to exist only to set these two things up so that they don't come out of nowhere later.
I wouldn't really call it a dud though - just an a bit weaker spot in the series. Compared to the likes of "Spike At Your Service" from MLP, which was an absolutely horrendous Cliché Storm episode with nearly everyone out of character and any continuity thrown out of the window, DD&MD was merely a bit underwhelming.
I suppose "dud" is relative. But I think you may be right that this episode was meant to set a couple things up, rather than tell its own story.
I think maybe they got the idea to use D&D as a common interest for Dipper and Stanford, since it's something Dipper would be into that would've been around when Stanford was his age, but none of the writing staff actually knew much about it, so they threw a plot together.
Disappointing, definitely, but it's still nice to see Stanford finding his niche in the story, and the infinity die will hopefully become a thing down the line.
I agree it's not exactly the best episode in comparison to others. Mabel seemed to be out of character in mockery of Dipper because she'd only join in on laughing at him or make a minor joke.
Now she knows her fear of becoming like Stanley and Stanford but still mocks him even its beginning to become true.
She tries to force Dipper and Ford out of the room even though they are enjoying themselves. Which is highly against Mabels principles of making everybody happy so she is needlessly crueller in this episode towards Dipper.
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Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons
I suppose, statistically, even the greats have a dud or two along the way, but this one really just felt like a first draft at best. To begin with, the pacing was dreadful. The main villain didn't show up until halfway through and once there, he didn't leave much of an impression. It's an unfortunate truth that the idea of a D&D-themed episode has so many possible directions, it would be impossible to actually cram the full potential into a twenty-minute episode, but I still feel like they could've done far better than they did.
The B-plot about Dipper and Stanford starting to bond over their shared interest was reasonably solid, if a little fast, but there was nothing particularly memorable or entertaining in or around it. The climax was essentially a watered-down, less entertaining rehash of the "use your imagination to defeat the monsters" climax from the "journey to the center of Stan's mind" plot from a previous episode.
If these were its only problems, the episode would be nothing more than forgettable. Unfortunately, the credits chose to end on the most generic "roleplayers are losers" joke imaginable, leaving the whole thing feeling just plain *mean*. With very little to even things out, the whole experience was just unpleasant.
If you're a new viewer and this was your first look at the series, I recommend giving it another chance. This episode is NOT indicative of the show's quality.