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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 5434720" data-attributes="member: 59082">Thanks RyanD, that pretty much resonates with my perspective. In some sense it seems that WotC has become a kind of tragedy of errors - they just keep on making similar mistakes, errors of judgment, etc, as if they're really out of touch with reality. Make one mistake? OK, might as well compound it with another. As an anecdote, I got the Red Box for my 10-year old nephew for Christmas; he also received Castle Ravenloft from his father. He was very excited about the latter product but after flipping through the contents of the Red Box, his response was &quot;Do I have to read all of this?&quot; Obviously this is just one child and he isn't necessarily exemplary of all 10-year olds, but it does say something and points to the kind of identity confusion that is exemplified by the Red Box. Now while I agree with you that D&amp;D cannot compete with MMOs, I think it is a mistake to even try, that WotC should instead focus their energies on making and advertising a game as a kind of antidote or alternative to the simulative virtual experience of MMOs. Stuff like this: Dungeons &amp; Dragons: A Game of Story, Adventure, and Imagination. That last word is key: D&amp;D is primarily a game of imagination and it should be designed and marketed as such. This doesn't mean that they shouldn't enhance that game with technology, but that it should be just that: enhancement and thus secondary, not primary.I honestly think that D&amp;D could remain a strong product for years to come, but I unfortunately doubt that WotC has the right staff to really make it shine. Hopefully I'm wrong, but the last couple years isn't all that encouraging.Anyhow, thanks for your response - I look forward to your columns.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 5434720, member: 59082"] Thanks RyanD, that pretty much resonates with my perspective. In some sense it seems that WotC has become a kind of tragedy of errors - they just keep on making similar mistakes, errors of judgment, etc, as if they're really out of touch with reality. Make one mistake? OK, might as well compound it with another. As an anecdote, I got the Red Box for my 10-year old nephew for Christmas; he also received [I]Castle Ravenloft [/I]from his father. He was very excited about the latter product but after flipping through the contents of the Red Box, his response was "Do I have to read all of this?" Obviously this is just one child and he isn't necessarily exemplary of all 10-year olds, but it does say [I]something[/I] and points to the kind of identity confusion that is exemplified by the Red Box. Now while I agree with you that D&D cannot compete with MMOs, I think it is a mistake to even try, that WotC should instead focus their energies on making and advertising a game as a kind of antidote or alternative to the simulative virtual experience of MMOs. Stuff like this: [I]Dungeons & Dragons: A Game of Story, Adventure, and Imagination. [/I]That last word is key: D&D is primarily a game of [I]imagination [/I]and it should be designed and marketed as such. This doesn't mean that they shouldn't [I]enhance [/I]that game with technology, but that it should be just that: enhancement and thus secondary, not primary. I honestly think that D&D could remain a strong product for years to come, but I unfortunately doubt that WotC has the right staff to really make it shine. Hopefully I'm wrong, but the last couple years isn't all that encouraging. Anyhow, thanks for your response - I look forward to your columns. [/QUOTE]

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