Future of D&D Keynote Speech [UPDATE - with video!]

Echohawk · Aug 18, 2012

Azgulor said:
Tepid applause at first mention of D&D Next, which surprised me given this was GenCon and presumably a pro-D&D/WotC crowd in the room.

I was watching the live stream, and near the beginning of that, Mike Robles (whom I understand was the WotC person managing the stream) noted that they had set up the sound feed to catch audio from the speakers' mikes, and not the audience. So it probably isn't a good idea to judge the audience response from the streaming video.

I'd be most interested to read impressions of the fan reaction to various bits of that presentation from someone who was there.

delericho · Aug 18, 2012

mudbunny said:
OGL - It is way, way too early in the process for that to be considered or talked about.

DDI - I would be very, very surprised to see any sort of mention of what the electronic tools will consist of more than 3 or 4 months before the release.

In both cases, it's not too soon for a statement of intent.

If they're going to have an open license (especially if it's not an existing license), then there's a very slow process involving legal. If they're going to have some sort of electronic tools, those tools will take a long time to develop. In both cases, they're long processes - they should be getting started.

That being said, I also think that it is a complete no-brainer for WotC to have some sort of electronic tools presence for Next. DDI was, last I looked, bringing in a couple of million dollars a year for WotC (around 50k subscribers at about $10 a month) in a predictable fashion is not something that any company the size of WotC will scoff at.

Latest estimate I saw was just over 70k, giving $8.4Mish per year. Which, for a company the size of Hasbro may well not worth bothering with.

It's also important to note the costs associated with DDI. Developing the existing tools was expensive. Maintaining the servers, developing material for the magazines, and applying the errata are all expensive.

There's absolutely no guarantee that DDI has been a profitable venture, taken over the whole of the 4e edition cycle. That being the case, Hasbro may well be hesitant about investing another tens of millions in developing another new set of tools for 5e.

Ratenef said:
I for one would be completely surprised if they even considered an OGL model again.

Actually, so would I. But if that's the case, I would like to know.

(Although, that said, I would be very surprised if it wasn't possible to develop support materials for 5e using the OGL, even if 5e was never formally opened - exactly as has been done for 4e. If they're smart, WotC will recognise this, and if they do then they might choose to formally open the game in order to garner the goodwill such a move would generate.)

DerekSTheRed · Aug 18, 2012

mudbunny said:
I do, however, think that this version of the tools will have a much greater emphasis on APIs and have an iTunes-like store available for 3pps

I'm pretty sure the local RPG retailers would hate that idea as much as record stores hate iTunes. It would pretty much ensure they would stop selling D&D altogether.

caudor · Aug 18, 2012

Trying to figure out what I'm going to play for the next two years?? That is a long time, especially in dog years.

Mustrum_Ridcully · Aug 18, 2012

Well, I am not a big Forgotten Realms fan, but I must say I cringed a bit when they talked about Times of Troubles and Spellplage and said such a thing wouldn't happen again, and then they called the new thing "Sundering".

That doesn't have to mean it's bad. One thing I could see is that they "reshape" the setting so that the different time areas between these realms-shaking events may become seperate entities and give a story reason to stay alongside each other, meaning that there could be stories and campaign material set after the point the time of troubles would have happened in a timeline where it didn't happen. More support for a "what-if" scenario that some people may really like, since they didn't like some of the changes brought with the world-shattering.

Though it sounds like it would be difficult to maintain and keep straight for customers. So it's probably something else.

occam · Aug 18, 2012

Echohawk said:
I was watching the live stream, and near the beginning of that, Mike Robles (whom I understand was the WotC person managing the stream) noted that they had set up the sound feed to catch audio from the speakers' mikes, and not the audience. So it probably isn't a good idea to judge the audience response from the streaming video.

I'd also argue that Peter didn't deliver the applause line very well. Delivery makes a huge difference.

occam · Aug 18, 2012

OK, the slide that Greg Leeds put up near the beginning showing different perceptions of what the President of WotC does? Hilarious! :lol:

Roland55 · Aug 18, 2012

Mistwell said:
I don't think there was a teleprompter. I think that's just what Ed looks like when he talks. In fact, I seriously doubt anyone there has teleprompter training - and you do need that skill to use one. They are fairly rare devices, and not so easy to learn how to use.

I can verify that!

Even after training, I'll never be good using one. :blush:

darjr · Aug 18, 2012

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2LE5w4ZO_k[/ame]

For those that prefer it.

mudbunny · Aug 18, 2012

Dark Mistress said:
No worries. I just thought you meant it didn't need to be done till much later. just a misunderstanding.

Given the fiasco with the GSL and the delays with getting it out to 3pps, I would be very surprised if major 3pps weren't already getting NDA'ed questions about what they would like to see in a Next OGL/GSL-type license. Especially if they manage (like I know some people at WotC are hoping for) to get an app-store like setup for DDI.