D&D General Mike Mearls sits down with Ben from Questing Beast

[aiouh]

it will never be enough for the suits, so that does not feel like a relevant criteria. Their need to generate ever more money is not working so great on the MtG side from what I hear (not that I follow MtG), so I am not expecting all that much on the D&D side either

The big question mark is their VTT, they poured more money into it than in D&D over its lifetime, and so far they have very little to show for it…

MtG is doing really well. They just a hit a billion of revenue this year. It is much much bigger than D&D, which is why I personally think they need the game to be even more player facing, preferrably digitally.

 

[Wolfpack48]

WotC lucked into having both. 5E14 wasn't put into production expecting to make the money it did, that was just a happy accident.

So the extended question would be which other TTRPGs make a lot of money while also being player-driven? The only issue though with trying to answer that question would be trying to parse any person's personal definition of "a lot of money" and "player-driven".

If the game keeps the company's lights on and doors open, is that "a lot of money"? Or is that just the baseline standard of what a company needs to do to survive, and thus "a lot of money" actually has to mean gaining quite a margin for profit.

And as far as "player-driven"... does that just mean easy and simplistic rules that anyone can understand after a single read-thru? Or does there also have to be a certain level of intricacy and strategic analysis in gameplay while also being easy to for anyone understand and play?

To me it's kind of a fool's question... as I don't think there would be any agreement on any definition so no answer could ever satisfactorily be given. And which is also why I don't think 5E14 could be held up as some sort of paragon of the form.

"Player-driven" means driven by feedback from players, that is, reinforcing the things they like and fixing the things they don't. It's an engagement model where you constantly ask how things are working for customers, and it's a working and well-known business model.

And why wouldn't you want to reproduce "happy accidents?" If they caught lightning in the bottle, why wouldn't you want to know as much as possible about how to repeat that?

 

[DEFCON 1]

"Player-driven" means driven by feedback from players, that is, reinforcing the things they like and fixing the things they don't. It's an engagement model where you constantly ask how things are working for customers, and it's a working and well-known business model.

And why wouldn't you want to reproduce "happy accidents?" If they caught lightning in the bottle, why wouldn't you want to know as much as possible about how to repeat that?

Because the whole point of using the term "catching lightning in a bottle" is because it isn't repeatable. It was complete luck that you did it the first time, it's not something you can plan to do so again.

 

[Zardnaar]

It is a tough nut for sure. I think I want a simplified game, but I also want interesting choices at character creation, advancement, and during play. I am not sure how to achieve that. OSR / Shadowdark are to simple for my tastes (though the have ideas I like) and PF2 is to complex for my tastes (though it has ideas I like). 5e14 & 5e24 are somewhere in the middle, but I seem to want something that is both simplified and more complex (compared to 5e) at the same time!

I'm kind if in the same boat. I think they're opposite desires tgat contradict each other.

1. As DM I like B/X and clones of it. Players probably won't like it as much.

2. As a player I like 5Ecor 5.5 levels of complexity. 3E and 4E are to far little nostalgia for 3E mechanics.

I'm thinking 2014 5E different direct using sone TSR and 3E pieces might be what I'm after.

 

[Wolfpack48]

Because the whole point of using the term "catching lightning in a bottle" is because it isn't repeatable. It was complete luck that you did it the first time, it's not something you can plan to do so again.

Nah. I believe in making your own luck. I pity those who think otherwise, doomed to be tossed about on the winds of chance and drowned in the sea.

Deliberate steps were taken for 2014e that ensured the product was a success. Just because it wasn't expected doesn't mean that the steps were worthless. In fact, they were the exactly right thing to do and should be repeated.

 

[Wolfpack48]

it will never be enough for the suits, so that does not feel like a relevant criteria. Their need to generate ever more money is not working so great on the MtG side from what I hear (not that I follow MtG), so I am not expecting all that much on the D&D side either

The big question mark is their VTT, they poured more money into it than in D&D over its lifetime, and so far they have very little to show for it…

The goal from suits will always be "make as much money as possible and more than is 'reasonable.'" But understanding that the way to make as much money as possible and more than is reasonable is to understand your audience and build a product that generates excitement with that audience. Where people get misled is believing that suits somehow know the best way to make the most money. They don't.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I’m referring to a year before. Is that what you mean? I wasn’t there for 2024

I’m not sure if it was after this panel or another.
View attachment 398044

Oooh, I was at the one in 2024. There was another OGL panel then.

 

[darjr]

Oooh, I was at the one in 2024. There was another OGL panel then.

All of them were in 2023.

 

[mamba]

MtG is doing really well. They just a hit a billion of revenue this year. It is much much bigger than D&D, which is why I personally think they need the game to be even more player facing, preferrably digitally.

As I wrote, I do not really follow Magic, but I did hear complaints about too many sets to keep up with and people losing interest because of that. The Q4 report also does not look like it is going from strength to strength. Digital gained a little, analog lost a little, the only real growth is in licensing (I assume much of that is owed to BG3, but not sure)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

the only real growth is in licensing (I assume much of that is owed to BG3, but not sure

WotC is licensing a lot this past year, most famously online gambling, but I'm seeing ads for all sorts of random products with D&D logos or artwork on them.