D&D 4E The GenCon UK 4E Announcement

[OakwoodDM]

Well, I got back from GenCon UK in Reading yesterday, and while there, I watched the 4E Announcement. I figured I'd probably already know what was going to be said, and I did, but I thought it'd be worth going. It was a mistake.

Before this, I had a pair of friends who were at least somewhat keen on 4E. I'd told them tidbits I'd picked up here, I'd even printed out the "what we know so far" pdf to show them, and they were receptive. Then came the announcement. It was so badly presented that they came out at least seriously skeptical and occasionally hostile to the upcoming new edition. Heck, even I came out of it acknowledging that if I had only that to go on I'd have been ticking the 'no' column of any hypothetical "Are you excited by the prospect of 4E?" poll.
To us it looked like the whole thing was pitched utterly wrong for the audience.

So, was it just us? Did other people who saw the UK version of the announcement view it differently?
Also, was it this badly received at GenCon Indy? Is it just a trans-atlantic misunderstanding thing?

 

[Morrus]

It seemed well received in Indy to me.

 

[wedgeski]

Objectively I have to say that the presentation wasn't that good. I sympathize with Bruce Cordell though... the slides themselves are dull, and the videos pretty uninspiring for the most part. He didn't have a lectern or anything so he was forced to hold the script in his hand the whole time as well. That coupled with some dodgy technical problems and... well, it wasn't a happy mix.

What irritated the hell out of me was the active hostility of some of the audience members during the Q&A, though, many of whom seemed to have come just to state a grudge. One guy demanded a straight answer to "Will there be a 5th Edition?" causing Charles Ryan, who doesn't even *work* for WotC, to stand up and say, "Of course there will be, so just shut up and let some real questions get answered, you loser." (Okay he didn't say that but it's what I heard in my head.)

Also, was it this badly received at GenCon Indy? Is it just a trans-atlantic misunderstanding thing?

It was always going to be a tricky session for BC because we've had a couple of weeks to digest the news and decide what we like and don't like about it. The fact that his tongue was tied about anything of any real import meant that the Q&A didn't really reveal anything significant, although I did ask and find out a couple of things about the preview books (they will be hardcover, they will be for sale off the shelf, and they'll have designer essays in).

I give major props to him for coming over, delivering the presentation, and facing the crowd afterwards, and I wish I'd had the chance to shake his hand at the end, but I had to meet someone and was out of time.

 

[Zander]

Objectively I have to say that the presentation wasn't that good. I sympathize with Bruce Cordell though... the slides themselves are dull, and the videos pretty uninspiring for the most part. He didn't have a lectern or anything so he was forced to hold the script in his hand the whole time as well. That coupled with some dodgy technical problems and... well, it wasn't a happy mix.

Oh, I don't know. I thought the video was pretty funny (the same, I believe, as the one shown in the US) and Bruce explained the thinking behind 4E cogently. Bear in mind that 4E is still in development so Bruce didn't have all the answers. Also, his hands were tied: he couldn't reveal too much at this stage because that would leave WotC nothing to drip feed us over the coming months.

What irritated the hell out of me was the active hostility of some of the audience members during the Q&A, though, many of whom seemed to have come just to state a grudge.

I completely agree. Some questioners seemed set against 4E in principle and took their frustration out on Bruce. Poor tactics and bad manners.

 

[Marshall]

It seemed well received in Indy to me.

It did? What presentation were you at? I heard a whole boatload of dead silence at obvious applause lines and got a general feeling of resignation more than excitement.

 

[Piratecat]

I like Bruce Cordell a lot, and he's a brilliant adventure writer. He's never struck me as an innate public speaker, though, and that would have been a tough crowd.

 

[Thaumaturge]

It seemed well received in Indy to me.

I, too, was at Gen Con Indy, and for the most part, the announcement was well received. There were some boos and the like, but overall the attitude was cautiously optimistic.

Also, I thought the intro video was funny, and I suspect people are transferring their dislike for 4e to the intro video.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Jared Rascher]

Not to be a wet blanket, but by the time they "announce" this at GenCon UK, a lot of people already know about it. Enough so that people that are interested most likely signed up to go to the show to see if they could learn more. In other words, this would skew any kind of analysis of weather 4th edition is well received since its much easier, at this announcement, to find people already convinced that 4th edition is something they want to look in at.

I also saw in several of the designer's blogs that they felt the reaction to the announcement in Indy wasn't overwhelming support, but kind of stunned silence with a few points of cheering over specific items that were announced. Even they didn't try to spin this as being generally well received, just not automatically reviled.

There is a difference between an audience being outright rude (i.e. booing, catcalls) and an audience being quietly stunned or indifferent to the announcement.

 

[wedgeski]

Not to be a wet blanket, but by the time they "announce" this at GenCon UK, a lot of people already know about it. Enough so that people that are interested most likely signed up to go to the show to see if they could learn more. In other words, this would skew any kind of analysis of weather 4th edition is well received since its much easier, at this announcement, to find people already convinced that 4th edition is something they want to look in at.

Well, I was there, and this doesn't follow I'm afraid. There were plenty of people who seemed hostile to the idea. I think the fact that this was one of the (very) few high profile events at the Con also ensured that the turnout was heavy.

 

[thorian]

It seemed well received in Indy to me.

It didn't seem that well received to me. The crowd was not enthusiastic whatsoever. I heard many boos and derogatory comments. Granted, it wasn't as negative as the RPGA announcement (that was brutal), but I certainly wouldn't call it positive in any way.

After getting home from GenCon, I watched the presentation video (via youtube) to see if it came across the same as it did live. You can hear a pretty mixed reaction of boos and applause at the end.