Recent content by A-A-ron

So...as much as WotC has been its own worst enemy for the past several years, this seems like a good development (if one that was kinda unavoidable given the competitive landscape). Possibly a small first step in winning back trust as competent stewards of the game, but they still have a long...

Must there be one of these in every thread?

I actually had no intention of returning to this thread (or this board, really), but I do feel the need to do so in order to say thank you. All too often "logic" on the Internet amounts to dog-piling; it's nice to see the occasional exception. (y)

Allow me to present an alternate hypothesis to explain the forum's decline in popularity: Contrary opinions, no matter how well-reasoned or politely expressed, and are often met an insular response...just like this one. But message received; I'll show myself out. :mad:

If you truly believe that is what my argument amounts to, then I'm afraid there is little point in saying more. Except, of course: Good evening.

You should believe whomever you like, though I would suggest that, in general, one is better served by considering the content of an argument rather than the source. YMMV.

And I dispute none of that. As I've stated, my intention wasn't to disparage people in the field of game design, merely to explain why the industry doesn't pay well. After all, the fact that the industry doesn't pay well was mentioned in this thread as coming as a surprise to many fans, which...

I believe that you're arguing that the low equilibrium price (wages) is more attributable to (the relative lack of) demand than it is to supply. Ultimately I do not agree, but I acknowledge that your position is a reasonable one (not to imply that you require my acknowledgement -- rather, I am...

Dunning-Kruger is when one "lacks the meta-cognitive ability to recognize one's own incompetence." Please note that I made no claims about my own competence; only an observation about the relative commonality of the apparent skill set. But let's assume for the purposes of this discussion that...

"Any bloke off the street" is a bit of a straw man. But I would argue that anyone with an aptitude for language and some interest could become relatively proficient in a very short time. But assume for a second that I'm wrong, and RPG design is an uncommon skill. How, then, do you explain...

Happily, we don't have to speculate or rely on dubious analogies. The market has spoken, and the pay for designing RPGs sucks. If you have plausible explanation for why this is the case -- other than supply and demand -- I'm all ears. Edit: That's also not really how Dunning-Kruger works...

So this is probably going to sound like I'm trying to be insulting, but I truly don't mean it that way. Is this really surprising to most folks? Designing RPGs requires no special skills...at least none which I can discern. No manual skills, no technical knowledge, not even mathematical...

You're missing the point: The status quo is also "pretty lame" -- perhaps just not for you.

It's time for D&D to make like Basic Fantasy and drop alignment altogether.

Given Roll20's oft-discussed slow roll out of new features -- and platforms like Astral breathing down their neck -- this doesn't seem like the best thing for them to be spending time on. The price of entry also seems way too high; high enough to ensure this will never be more than a niche...