Glyfair
Explorer
I was reading Mike Mearls most recent blog post. and he brought up a good point.
Looking back, I don't know. At the time most RPGs had developed far afield from D&D, and D&D was certainly looking long in the tooth to anyone who had a played just a few decent RPGs. The design really took no advantage of the developments in the RPG world at all.
I suspect that 2nd edition's primary goal might actually have been the one for which that every new edition of D&D got accused. It might have been "design a new game that will create better sales for D&D." Yes, they knew there were cries for a new edition, but they seemed to have ignored the things most of those cries were asking for.
What were the design goals the developers of 2nd edition were using?
Mike Mearls said:I'll always remember 2nd edition as a missed opportunity. I have no idea what sort of restrictions or goals the designers worked under. Was backward compatibility deemed the most important element? What did TSR's designers see as the game's goal?
Looking back, I don't know. At the time most RPGs had developed far afield from D&D, and D&D was certainly looking long in the tooth to anyone who had a played just a few decent RPGs. The design really took no advantage of the developments in the RPG world at all.
I suspect that 2nd edition's primary goal might actually have been the one for which that every new edition of D&D got accused. It might have been "design a new game that will create better sales for D&D." Yes, they knew there were cries for a new edition, but they seemed to have ignored the things most of those cries were asking for.
What were the design goals the developers of 2nd edition were using?