Unconfirmed: More Layoffs at WotC

[ggroy]

Here is Peter Schaefer's resignation post on his WotC blog.

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http://community.wizards.com/wotc_peters/blog/?pref_tab=blog

 

[I'm A Banana]

Peter Schaefer and Jesse Decker and Andy Collins are all names I recognize from stuff I've loved.

From the "big names left" category, Rich Baker does OK, Rodney Thompson does boffo stuff, Mearls can be a bit hit or miss (he's got a strong "simple is better" vein that tends to remove the interesting complexity from things that need it, IMO, but he's also done some great stuff), and a lot of the time I think Wyatt is trying to design a game I'm not really that interest in playing.

That's not a bad record. But I generally thought Collins and I were on a lot of the same pages.

....is it too dorky that I can list of D&D devs like some folks list off pitchers for the Yankees/Lead singers in Black Flag?

Anyway, it's sad whenever anyone gets the axe, but here's hoping they can find lucrative careers in the booming videogame industry. Each ending is the opportunity for a new beginning, and you don't all have to go into making Gorton's Fisherman commercial like Linae.

 

[nedjer]

The tabletop RPG industry has been chasing the videogame industry's tail for long enough. If it continues to do so the videogame industry will turn round and swallow tabletop gaming whole. The jobs and the 'value' lie in USPs, creativity and integrity; not tie-ins.

 

[Matt James]

My thoughts and prayers are out for these guys. I have worked with a couple of them and this is a shock. Here's hoping they land on their feet.

 

[Erik Mona]

I find rumors that they laid off Jesse Decker to be so shocking that I will not believe it until it is confirmed from multiple sources.

Pics or it didn't happen!

--Erik

 

[Doug McCrae]

Case in point. I now market seafood. These people wouldn't know an orc if it hit them.

By strange coincidence, orc can also refer to a sea monster. There's a chapter in Orlando Furioso, The Orc, in which Rugero battles such a beast while mounted on a hippogriff. It's described as having tusks like a boar, which might be why orcs in early D&D products (like the cover of Keep on the Borderlands) are depicted as pig-men.

 

[Erik Mona]

Ok, that was quick. Confirmed from about four sources.

AMAZING.

--Erik

 

[ggroy]

I find rumors that they laid off Jesse Decker to be so shocking

What would this signify if true?

 

[Erik Mona]

Well, not much given the other top-tier talent the company sheds on a semi-annual basis, but my understanding was that Jesse had taken on many of Scott Rouse's brand management duties over the last several months. He's also a great guy and one of the hardest workers I've ever had the pleasure to work with, so it's just surprising is all.

--Erik

 

[Psion]

More from Chris Sims' twitter feed.

I shouldn't be shocked by this sort of news anymore.