D&D 5E WotC Dungeons & Dragons 2020 Product Survey

[Wishbone]

Oh, and they kept asking me about using a calendar app. ?? Um, I have the session times entered into my phone. Same as any other appointment.

That was weird I'll admit so I chose to answer yes on calendar apps. I also prefer in person to online to the point where I haven't played since COVID started so I'm curious how significantly COVID play will skew the answers in regards to use of digital tools or virtual gaming.

 

[R_J_K75]

Hope my honest answers on those don't skew things against the rest of you, but this DM is old school: The faulty grey stuff in my head, a note book (paper) a pen, & a stack of physical books as needed. Sometimes I'll actually type something up.....

Oh, and they kept asking me about using a calendar app. ?? Um, I have the session times entered into my phone. Same as any other appointment.

I think the fact that alot of the survey asked about things digital is pretty telling that they are going to put some emphasis on it. I bet people like you and I are in the minority. Im not saying I never use anything digital but its rare and what I've tried I stopped using as its usually not worth the learning curve or time. I can do it quicker and easier the old fashioned way. I think the calendar was leaning towards either some kind of scheduling meetup type of gaming site sponsored by WotC or an actually calendar app to track your in game campaign. I got that question a few times too.

 

[R_J_K75]

I also prefer in person to online to the point where I haven't played since COVID started so I'm curious how significantly COVID play will skew the answers in regards to use of digital tools or virtual gaming.

We were using Roll20 from when COVID started in mid march until the middle of may. After while we stopped and started playing in my garage where we could sit far enough apart once the weather got warm enough. I keep a very small circle of friends and family who we still see each other, we still do our part in public when were out to social distant and wear PPE, but also otoh alot of people I know have come to the conclusion that life cant stop and this pandemic is probably going to be around for awhile, so all you can do is take precautions. I wouldnt be surprised if alot of people feel the same so maybe the numbers may not be as skewed as youd think?

 

[prabe]

I didn't keep track of how many questions there were, but it asked about what I used for prep and for playing in person and electronically; the repetition of questions across those use-cases was notable but understandable. The fact I exclusively homebrew the world and adventures when I DM and strongly prefer to prep and play pencil-on-paper might peg me as an outlier on a couple of the axes they're measuring.

 

[Kurotowa]

WOTC: We've collected all this data to really hone in on what D&D players want!

Also WOTC: Here's another MTG book.

Well, it probably means that IS what D&D players want. Or at least enough of them for WotC to turn a good profit on the books. Just because it's not what you want or what this forum wants doesn't mean those opinions reflect a majority of D&D players out there. I mean, that's why WotC is doing these surveys, so they can get a more accurate read on what the player base is interested in than just listening to the loudest forum denizens.

It's like voting. The fact that your candidate doesn't win in every election doesn't mean that the elections are rigged or voting is meaningless. It just means you don't get to have your way every time.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Looking up anything is way faster online on a tablet than going through a book. I don't think i could ever go back to electronic free.

This is my experience at the table...

GM: OK, you look around the room for awhile for clues to the origin of the strange artifact. Each of you make an Investigation roll.

ME: (glances down at skill box of printed character sheet) (rolls dice) 13.

Other 2 players: (picks up phone) (unlocks phone) (checks or bypasses app notifications) (clicks to correct page on character sheet app) (puts down phone) (rolls dice) 8, 23.


I love electronics to help you create and manage the game when you aren't sitting at the physical table, but I hate their intrusion while actually playing the game.

 

[prabe]

I love electronics to help you create and manage the game when you aren't sitting at the physical table, but I hate their intrusion while actually playing the game.

I agree, but I'm not inclined to insist that players use paper sheets if they don't want to. OTOH, we use real dice even while we're gaming around a VTT. Also, I have a dice-roller app that I've made presets in for monsters, which makes randomizing monster HP much quicker.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, it probably means that IS what D&D players want. Or at least enough of them for WotC to turn a good profit on the books. Just because it's not what you want or what this forum wants doesn't mean those opinions reflect a majority of D&D players out there. I mean, that's why WotC is doing these surveys, so they can get a more accurate read on what the player base is interested in than just listening to the loudest forum denizens.

It's like voting. The fact that your candidate doesn't win in every election doesn't mean that the elections are rigged or voting is meaningless. It just means you don't get to have your way every time.

Word.

 

[LordEntrails]

This is my experience at the table...

GM: OK, you look around the room for awhile for clues to the origin of the strange artifact. Each of you make an Investigation roll.

ME: (glances down at skill box of printed character sheet) (rolls dice) 13.

Other 2 players: (picks up phone) (unlocks phone) (checks or bypasses app notifications) (clicks to correct page on character sheet app) (puts down phone) (rolls dice) 8, 23.


I love electronics to help you create and manage the game when you aren't sitting at the physical table, but I hate their intrusion while actually playing the game.

Not all digital tools, or the people who use them, are equal. Or in same cases better than non-digital options. But, as with alternate technologies, you have to look at more than just a single use case.

Some digital tools would have been a single click for the player, and they would not have had to activate their devices etc.

Anyway, I heard the same types of arguments when engineering drawings went from mylar on drawing boards to CAD programs and files. "Look, on paper all I have to do is erase this number and put in the new value. The guy on CAD has to start the computer, open the file, wait for it to regenerate, change the value and then tell it to regenerate again, then he has to send it to the plotter. What takes me 3 minutes takes him 25!" Yet how come everyone uses CAD now?

 

[Wishbone]

We were using Roll20 from when COVID started in mid march until the middle of may. After while we stopped and started playing in my garage where we could sit far enough apart once the weather got warm enough. I keep a very small circle of friends and family who we still see each other, we still do our part in public when were out to social distant and wear PPE, but also otoh alot of people I know have come to the conclusion that life cant stop and this pandemic is probably going to be around for awhile, so all you can do is take precautions. I wouldnt be surprised if alot of people feel the same so maybe the numbers may not be as skewed as youd think?

That's fair. If that's true I imagine there would still be increasingly more examples of people playing online than otherwise for a period of time. Valuable to know, but indicative of this particular moment in time is all.