The Next Innovation in Gaming

[Mark]

Yes, good ideas are plentiful and some of the best ideas are definitely going to come from the smaller companies and relative unknowns but I have the somewhat pessimistic viewpoint that most good ideas never amount to large scale commercial success for the creators.

I think this is a bit of a revision from your original assertion (the one I first disagreed with) -

Sure there were issues and since D&D is the biggest game in town (and ultimately that is what we are talking about) it somewhat naive at this point to think the innovation in the category is going to come from somewhere else.

Anyway, I'm not all that sure it matter much where the ideas come from, nor that it matters to the general public if the creator/innovator makes a ton of money. Let's just hope that those who do the innovating get at least what they hope to get.

 

[nedjer]

Well, note that I did say there is such a thing as "too cheap".

The real key is to have other products available as a revenue producer, so that you aren't just giving away the store.

I probably also have a differing viewpoint than other store owners from trying to build a local gaming community from scratch. RPGs, miniature games, and board games have been slow sellers because there just weren't that many people playing them.

Magic took off because of 2 previous card shops in the area - people knew the game and it was easy to pick up a $4 booster.

Savage Worlds "took off" (using the term loosely) because it had a much lower buy in than D&D - people knew D&D but were more willing to take a chance on Savage Worlds to test the RPG waters.

A lower price point makes adaptation easier. Even WotC priced the original 3E books at $20.

I hope to persuade those involved to take another step up in presentation quality and look at a 'retail' hard copy of some kind. But they've pointed out that with cheap (ish) US Letter sized tablets on the way electronic versions are going to get a larger share than now.

You seem to have already set off on a solution for stores with a community, cross marketing your products and lowering 'entry' costs. Do more 'services' look the likely option if electronic products take a larger share of the market - how to play CCG sessions, how to play and share games across tablets, competitions and the like? And/ or do you see tabletop RPGs getting sidelined as you necessarily put forward more 'practical' options in terms of keeping food in your mouth?

 

[Scott_Rouse]

I think this is a bit of a revision from your original assertion (the one I first disagreed with) -

Reading back through the thread, that is fair. I moved around on the map.

To go back to my original thought: I believe the next big thing will likely come from one of the companies that can invest in something big. I think it will be delivery of content merged with technology. Something that will grow the audience, evolve how/where people play and how they buy/consume content. IMO WotC/D&D is the candidate I would guess is most likely to do this. Should have happened with 4e but that is another thread.

Anyway, I'm not all that sure it matter much where the ideas come from, nor that it matters to the general public if the creator/innovator makes a ton of money. Let's just hope that those who do the innovating get at least what they hope to get.

True dat. Innovation will come from other companies, people, place no doubt. We likely can't predict what they will do but I sure hope it helps to keep the industry alive or better grow it.

 

[Darrin Drader]

I take the OPs question as game changing, growing the category, vaulting a company into a higher level of operation type of innovation. Magic: the Gathering is listed. This lucky break of the right game at the right time put WotC on the map and gave them the capital to eventually buy TSR. If it weren't for M:TG WotC would likely have failed as a business in the mid 90's. With that in mind, I am coming at this from the big innovation = big cost. I am thinking capital investment of tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are a handful of companies that can handle the type of investment I am talking about. WotC, White Wolf/CCP, Fantasy Flight, ProFantasy, Mongoose, GamesWorkshop, maybe Paizo. IMO the most likely place this will happen is WoTC because they have a) the capital, b) the biggest property (at this time), c) the audience. The company that will make the biggest bet is likely the one that expects to have the best chance of winning.

My second most likely is White Wolf/CCP. Eve Online makes a lot of money, they have good properties, smart people work there with experience in technology, and they have infrastructure (servers etc).

I don't think the potential reward in the TableTop RPG industry is worth the time and investment of most companies outside the industry, the ROI for larger scale development is not there.

Scott, I'm sure you've heard the joke: Q - How do you make a big pile of cash in the RPG industry? A - Start with an even larger pile of cash.

Honestly, I think that companies that have the money and the customer base are going to see the greatest returns by not innovating, but rather continuing capitalize on their existing core competencies. Instead, I think that innovation is going to come from incorporating technologies that are emerging in other areas. I think the E-readers have a great deal of potential. Just make them large enough, add color (which the new Kindle has already done), and throw in some additional capabilities that are useful to gamers such as a die roller, a way to electronically manage character sheets, and the ability to search by text, and it could be huge. Tech savvy gamers who hack the thing and then freely distribute software packages, firmware updates, etc. are where the innovation will most likely originate. From there, I think big companies like WotC might latch on if there's a proven record of that technology's popularity. If suddenly 30% of gamers are using hacked E-readers at the table instead of books, then WotC might be swayed to make something official, add additional features, and maybe pretty it up a little bit.

 

[Jim Butler]

I actually think the next step for gaming will be entirely different from the perspectives in this thread so far. Tabletop gaming is currently competing with electronic entertainment for a share of our entertainment (dollars/pounds/yen/euros), and electronic entertainment is winning. Tabletop gaming won't continue on into the coming decades by evolving into another electronic entertainment form, but by offering an alternative to the flickering, glowing rectangles that rule the rest of our lives.

Tabletop gaming's next innovation will be in marketing itself to those of us who have grown tired of spending all day at a computer screen only to go home and watch another screen in our leisure time. Tabletop gaming needs to bill itself as a cure for the detachment and isolationism creeping into our recreation, and appeal to the growing number of people who have "unplugged" themselves.

How I wish that D&D's future would be brighter if only we marketed it better. If only we would invest in better marketing campaigns. If only if we could unleash the Product of Your Imagination before electronic games rotted your mind. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

When we looked at Third Editiion, the OGL, and the upcoming release of Neverwinter Nights, we already saw the psychographics of a younger audience moving to the electronic arena. This younger audience was hitting games like EverQuest and sticking. We saw the writing on the wall.

I'm one of those people that believes that the RPG future rests with electronic gaming tables that provide a.) Easy Access with Low System Requirements, b.) Full customization/personalization, C.) Immersive gameplay.

Unfortunately, producing something like this is extremely hard, will require a multi-million dollar investment (before marketing), and is most likely only in the reach of WotC.

 

[Scott_Rouse]

How I wish that D&D's future would be brighter if only we marketed it better. If only we would invest in better marketing campaigns. If only if we could unleash the Product of Your Imagination before electronic games rotted your mind. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

When we looked at Third Editiion, the OGL, and the upcoming release of Neverwinter Nights, we already saw the psychographics of a younger audience moving to the electronic arena. This younger audience was hitting games like EverQuest and sticking. We saw the writing on the wall.

I'm one of those people that believes that the RPG future rests with electronic gaming tables that provide a.) Easy Access with Low System Requirements, b.) Full customization/personalization, C.) Immersive gameplay.

Unfortunately, producing something like this is extremely hard, will require a multi-million dollar investment (before marketing), and is most likely only in the reach of WotC.

So true Jim. Now we just need one other former Brand Manager to agree for the hat trick. Dancey, Valterra, Ryan you out there?

 

[jaerdaph]

My recent discovery of the power of Google SketchUp, combined with what I've been reading about the VTT applications of Google Wave folks are now experimenting with, I think it would be interesting to see the two combined to provide 3D VTT environments.

 

[Mark]

My recent discovery of the power of Google SketchUp, combined with what I've been reading about the VTT applications of Google Wave folks are now experimenting with, I think it would be interesting to see the two combined to provide 3D VTT environments.

I won't be able to go that far but I am going to utilize 3D views along with the wave as well as a primitive 2D VTT that all players will be able to access either in real time or in wave's by-post fashion. Wave still requires a level of trust among the players as the DM cannot restrict much of the editing fuctionality yet.

 

[jaerdaph]

Wave still requires a level of trust among the players as the DM cannot restrict much of the editing fuctionality yet.

Do you know if there are plans to add permission levels? If Google Wave is going to ever be accepted in the corporate workplace (like, for real work, YUCK! ), I imagine they would plan on doing that eventually.

 

[Thakkar]

In my opinion I think we will see something like the touted dnd tabletop that will allow users to connect from all over to play a game. I think this is something that could be done with current web technology out there. WOTC....... I would not hold my breath on anything tech materializing from them. I am still awaiting a viable option for 3e that was promised back then. 5e might see it to light. The character generator is a nice addition to 4e but if you check the bug list for it and then check the last time work was done on the bug list you will see WOTCs commitment to tech.