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The Escapist has published a series of articles on D&D's past, present, and future. In them, they briefly interview ex-WotC staff members (and, to be fairly transparent, current competitors) such as Erik Mona, Chris Pramas, Ryan Dancey, and Andy Collins.
So far, they've published The Ghosts of D&DPast andPresent(so expect "Future" soon - heh. Witty pun).
UPDATE - Future is now published. They actually talk to present staff in this one (namely Mike Mearls).
The article offers some pretty broad generalizations, painting those who like 4e as young MMO-players, where those who like previous editions as old folk who played in the early 80s.
Both DMs in my group (me and a friend) have never played a MMORPG, have been playing since the early 80s, and 4e is our system of choice. I've liked 4e even before I started working on it in an official capacity. What I *do* believe is that its launch marketing was a big blunder.
It's a fascinating read. I remember copying the OGL and showing it to our corporate lawyer at Electronic Arts and asking his opinion. He was not a table top gamer, but was still amazed that a company would divest itself of such rights.
It's sad that WoTC were so forward thinking and yet unable to continue to support it.
The article offers some pretty broad generalizations, painting those who like 4e as young MMO-players, where those who like previous editions as old folk who played in the early 80s.
WTF? Generalization? How much in denial can you be?
Even Andy Collins, the head of development at WotC during the development of the 4e, admits that it has been designed with MMO-Players and their "attention span" in mind.
Generalization or not, these are the facts.
Quote:
Andy Collins was the head of development at Wizards of the Coast during the design and release of 4th edition and told The Escapist back in 2010 that the changes he implemented in D&D were meant to catch the game up with the way that people played modern games. Collins believed players have a short attention span, and were, perhaps, "less likely [to be] interested in reading the rules of the game before playing." "I'm not just talking about younger players now, but anybody. We've been working to adapt to that, the changing expectations of the new gamer."
WTF? Generalization? How much in denial can you be?
Even Andy Collins, the head of development at WotC during the development of the 4e, admits that it has been designed with MMO-Players and their "attention span" in mind.
Generalization or not, these are the facts.
The new game has attracted a loyal audience, especially with younger players, but at the cost of alienating those who grew up with the game of Gygax and Arneson.
Interesting article though it's hard to form an opinion on it without seeming that I'll end up taking a side. Therefore, I choose Stratego. Nothing is more frustrating than finding a bomb with a General or Marshal.
The new game has attracted a loyal audience, especially with younger players, but at the cost of alienating those who grew up with the game of Gygax and Arneson.
I think there is some confusion here in that some folks will say that "generalization" means something that only true if you don't look too closely ("a statement presented as a general truth but based on limited or incomplete evidence") while others will say it means something that is generally true ("a statement or conclusion that is derived from and applies equally to a number of cases"). It is true that D&D 4E was designed to attact the younger members of the gaming community and that the community of 4E gamers skews younger than the D&D community as a whole.
As to the articles, the first two installments don't really cover any new ground (except to plug Adventurer Conqueror King, which I already knew about and nearly tripled its Kickstarter goal, and seems a very cool project) so I can only imagine there must be some reasson to stretch them out that will become apparent in the finale.
WTF? Generalization? How much in denial can you be?
Even Andy Collins, the head of development at WotC during the development of the 4e, admits that it has been designed with MMO-Players and their "attention span" in mind.
Generalization or not, these are the facts.
I find the whole ordeal insulting. As one of those "younger people", I have never touched an MMO, and the vast majority of people in my age range who have played DnD with me never have either. I started playing 4th edition because 3rd's level of brokeness, and because 4th is a combat beauty.
I don't like being pigeon-holed. By you or anybody.
I find the whole ordeal insulting. As one of those "younger people", I have never touched an MMO, and the vast majority of people in my age range who have played DnD with me never have either. I started playing 4th edition because 3rd's level of brokeness, and because 4th is a combat beauty.
I don't like being pigeon-holed. By you or anybody.
I can't remeber writing something about you specifically.
But be it as it may, nothing you said changes the fact that 4e was designed with specific goals in mind. And I have already quoted Andy Collins on what those goals are. Nothing more to say, really.
I started playing 4th edition because 3rd's level of brokeness, and because 4th is a combat beauty.
I suppose the all of the people who are STILL playing 3.5 in some form or fashion (including Pathfinder) are playing a broken game?
Way to edition war there buddy.
__________________ I'm thinking you're totally out to lunch on this one. Find another form of foreplay that doesn't involve 3 hours of explanation and a pocket calculator.
The "future" article will likely be rather controversal.
Considering that the Escapist is primarily a video game site I will keep my prediction to the less dangerous topic of the D&D brand in video games. And here the future doesn't look bright at all.
The D&D brand so far had two "peaks" concerning video games. The first peak were the Gold Box games from SSI (Past) and Baldurs Gate (including spinoffs)/Neverwinter Nights (semi - present).
But D&D as a brand name has been damaged a lot as far as Video games are concerned.
First there was no new game for quite some time (Thanks to the Atari lawsuit) and the one game that did came out was very bad. In the meantime other fantasy universes did come out which overshadowed the D&D brand (Dragon Age). The split of the player base didn't make the D&D name more valuable either.
There is one D&D game in the works, but it is an MMO from Cryptic and when you at least have a little knowledge about MMOs than you know that Cryptic sucks at making them. They usually buy well known licenses they can get for cheap, make a cheap MMO which they finance through lifetime accounts and the instant it is released they drop it and look for a new license.
And even if it is surprisingly good it will still be only a small light compared to the big MMOs.
It will likely take another 10 years before D&D becomes prominent again as far as Video games are concerned. The market seem to shift away from Fantasy again towards Sci-Fi anyway.
I think the article excellently shows the dysfunction within WotC - which apparently continues to this day (layoffs, lack of strong direction for the brand).
__________________ Only you can prevent forest fires. That's right - you!
I think the article excellently shows the dysfunction within WotC - which apparently continues to this day (layoffs, lack of strong direction for the brand).
I am not happy with the state of WotC, but I think that this article also shows the deep division among players of table top role playing games. In some ways, I think that we benefit from having a variety of games to generate ideas and meet the different interests and styles of gamers.
Personally, I doubt that any new edition could unify a fragmented base. I would like to see good products come out of WotC, as it is good for the industry. Tastes can be subjective, so I am not sure how a new edition might be received.
What is truly remarkable is how our hobby has grown and changed in the last 40 years or so. When TSR was in trouble, I feared that D&D might be history. However, I am confident that our hobby will continue in one form or another. It is up to us to keep gaming alive as a hobby. Between introductory products, organized play, and individuals I know who dedicate their time and talent to our hobby, I think that we will see the grandkids of today's gamers likely playing some form of RPG.
__________________ What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding? -- Elvis Costello
The article also shows exactly what this thread shows: You can't have any sort of discussion about D&D without people fighting over editions, what they mean and who they targeted. It accurately states the harsh divisiveness.
Last edited by Rechan; 29th December 2011 at 02:44 AM..
The article also shows exactly what this thread shows: You can't have any sort of discussion about D&D without people fighting over editions and what they mean and who they targeted. It accurately states the harsh divisiveness.
We are divided, but we can try to be civil. It is not easy, but let's remember that we are ALL members of a relatively small and often misunderstood hobby. This is why fighting with each other seems silly to me.
__________________ What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding? -- Elvis Costello
Recent News
The Escapist has published a series of articles on D&D's past, present, and future. In them, they briefly interview ex-WotC staff members (and, to be fairly transparent, current competitors) such as Erik Mona, Chris Pramas, Ryan Dancey, and Andy Collins.
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