layoffs?

[Drkfathr1]

Always terrible news to hear of more lay-offs, regardless of the reason. I hate to see this during the holiday season too, I wish companies had a better way of doing this, but I understand why it seems to happen at this time of year.

Best wishes to all affected. Hopefully new jobs won't be long in coming, I'd say they all have the kind of talent that others will be looking for.

[TerraDave]

These have become so predictable they are painfull.

Though the fact that this is the second round, and mongoose mats recent anouncements, would seem to imply that while 4E is going well, it could be doing better.

Randy Buehler was, with 20/20 hindsight, clearly the wrong man in the wrong job. I very much hope he can find a position which better uses his talents.

Jonathan Tweet, largely the father of "d20" and hence the biggest force in RPGs for almost 10 years, may have been hurt by the demise of Dreamblade. Still his long association with Wizards makes this almost shocking. (except for my first point). It also removes the last person at WotC who had a significant role in creating 3E.

And there is David Noonan. Practically the face of D&D R&D, who did some very good 3E work, and was heavily involved in developing 4E (though his credit for it seemed limited). What can you say?

I do hope things work out for them. The timing is terrible. But things usually do.

[Raven Crowking]

My condolences as well. Here's to speedy reemployment in a job you enjoy.


RC

[xechnao]

Bad. Hope things sort out for the better ASAP.

[Angellis_ater]

My best wishes for the future for all of those laid off. I hope to one day be able to work side to side with many of you, and you've been inspirations for me and those like me who strive to design for a living.

Take care!

[Verys Arkon]

I'm sad to see so many titans let go, especially this time of year. Like everyone else here, I hope they find new positions soon.

I'll especially miss Dave Noonan - his pre-4e blogs really got me excited for 4e, and the podcasts with Mearls were something I always looked forward to. I hope Martial Power wont be the last book with his name on it.

I thought the DDI had finally hit its stride. The magazines were being released with quality material and on time, the communication had improved immensly, and the software was coming along it seemed. I hope such a dramatic upheaval doesn't derail all their progress.

Good luck in the future, and I hope to see your work again soon.

Verys

[dmccoy1693]

Good luck to you all. May you roll a 20 on your future interviews and may your interviewers all be 1st level commoners (so bring house cats).

[Zinovia]

My condolences to all those who were recently laid off. I was shocked to see some of the names on that list. I hope you all manage to find some new great jobs soon (or as soon as you want to go back to work!).

Thank you for the innumerable hours of enjoyment I have spent playing D&D (3.0, 3.5 and 4E) with my friends. My husband and I had given up on D&D after 1st ed, but the great work done by Jonathan and the rest of the 3E team brought us back to the game after many years. Then 4E came out just as we were wrapping up our 6 year long 3.5 game, and I'm playing two 4E campaigns now and loving it.

Dave, thanks for all your work on 4E and for the great podcasts. I enjoyed listening to them and was always happy to see a new episode come out. If you are interested in continuing with a gaming podcast, I really think there's room out there for one that talks about 4E (given the apparent podfade of Radio Free Hommlet ). Or talk about whatever you like - I'd subscribe!

I'm sorry that so many talented people were hit by this layoff. Know that we do appreciate all the hard work you put in on our favorite games.

[lexoanvil]

wow i don't know how to feel about this. i cant get enough of your podcast and other game content dave. i hope things work out for you and anyone else on this list.

[Rugult]

Dave,

As many people have already commented on here; I hope everything works out well for you and that you have a merry Xmas.

About the layoffs; I would just tell people not to come to any sudden conclusions. Every company nowadays is cutting back to the economy, and I doubt WotC is any different. If these were related to a deeper problem, then I'd guess we'd see a bit more then layoffs in the next few months...

[Admiral Caine]

My condolences to the whole lot of them.

There's been a few comments about Randy Buehler. I never knew of him from any place but DDInsider. However I wanted to say that once he relaunched the DDI project with his weekly Wednesday columns, I felt a lot more confident about the direction DDI was going in.

I liked him, and I didn't have any baggage coming in with me when I made that assessment. The last few months of DDI have seemed better and stronger, and I was getting hopeful. I credit Randy Buehler for that, right or for wrong.

Getting laid off is hard on anybody. Most people take a job hoping to do well at it.

My best wishes to all of them during this time.

[Piratecat]

Major layoffs during the 3e era created some award-winning game companies: Green Ronin, Malhavoc Games, and quite a few more. I can only hope that layoffs during the 4e era do the same.

23 folks were laid off, I believe. Painful.

[Princesskeyblade]

My condolences to all who was laid off. That sucks.

Here's to hoping that you don't stay unemployed too long!

[Melba Toast]

Originally Posted by Sheridan

A toy company that lays its workers off at the start of the Christmas season...

...how utterly devoid of a soul Hasbro/Wizards must be...

*Sheridan

The worst part is: they couldn't even wait until Friday afternoon to do it!

[CleverNickName]

Originally Posted by Piratecat

Major layoffs during the 3e era created some award-winning game companies: Green Ronin, Malhavoc Games, and quite a few more. I can only hope that layoffs during the 4e era do the same.

Indeed...I don't think we have seen the last of these brilliant designers.