D&D 4E 4E: Manufactured Excitement

[Wormwood]

Honestly, why is this forumcrap not locked?

I hope it never gets locked. It's like kicking over a log.

 

[AffableVagrant]

Is it just me, or is anyone else out there a little perplexed by the wild excitement of the MerricB's on this board?

WOTC wants to make more money. That's their job; they make money. As a company, that's is their goal. Fine. To do this, they have decided to release 4E.

As gamers, and consumers, we know why they are doing this: again, to make money. It's not because our 3.5 games suddenly became unplayable. It's not because we were clamoring for 4E (the majority of gamers in most polls on this site didn't desire 4E for a number of years yet, if at all). It's not because WOTC really wants to make the game more fun for us; if their new release manages this, that's a bonus.

The bottom line is money; they know they can make a huge profit out of 4E, and that's why it is being created and released. If it's a great game, that is icing on the cake.

{I'm sure many WOTC people are working hard to make it a great game. But 4E is going to be release when the business people say, not when it is honed into "greatness." }

So, honestly, why is everyone getting so excited/crazy about this?

How are you not simply acting like little pawns being pushed around the board by the WOTC PR people?

If you are playing 3.5 and having fun, why even bother looking at/wasting time with 4E until (at the very least) it is released for a few months, and you get a chance to read reviews and do some (free) game tests?

All this chitter-chatter and overheated parsing of WOTC 4E snippets; it's really a bit sad.

I don't understand the blind fan-boy devotion, which is what I see in a lot of 4E threads. It is a new release of the game, released to make money. WOTC wants your money. That is the bottom line. And for this you are hopping up and down with excitement, your fistful of dollars extended?

Isn't it, well, more normal to, well, you know, actually view a new product with a modicum of skepticism, educate yourself about it (after it is released), and only then - if what you see matches your expectations - get excited about it and buy it?

Why this sheep-like, herd-like, lemming-like thralldom to WOTC financial-driven announcements?

Here's a short lesson on how capitalism works:

WotC makes money because they sell me stuff I want and am willing to pay for. My table was clamoring for a new edition. I am an informed consumer because everything that I read about 4e is an improvement on 3e. I want it and will pay for it. That doesn't make me a sheep, pawn, or lemming; it makes me a satisfied customer.

Instead of venting your hostility on the forums, here's an alternative way to spend your time. March your self-righteous attitude back to your local organic privately-owned coffee house, sip on your cappuccino, tie back your dreadlocks so you can read your 3e books, and feel impressed with your own unconventional, nonconformist lifestyle.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Ah, so those of us who are enthusiastic about 4e might not be sheep and lemmings, but paid plants?

Why not... it worked for the Michael Bay Transformers movie haters.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I'm not excited by 4E, but I'm still interested in seeing where it ends up. Actually, I'm hoping that WotC makes many radical changes that break with "D&D tradition." That's a change from my initial attitude, which was "wow, they're going even farther away from how I like my D&D -- not at all interested..."

I have my opinions on what defines D&D, and I can play "my D&D," already. I think one of the reasons I didn't stick with 3E is because it was close enough to "my D&D" that I felt like I was playing D&D, but different enough that it felt like "wrong D&D." (I'm one of the minority that doesn't consider it "better D&D".) So I'm hoping that 4E diverges enough that it truly plays and feels like a different game. If so, I might take a look at is as a different game -- not to replace my D&D, but something to play on its own terms.

 

[hazel monday]

I take it you never get excited about a new book or movie.

Personally,even if I'm excited about the prospect of it, I've never talked about how good or bad a movie was before I've actually seen it.

 

[Hjorimir]

MerricB, to me, is something of a cheerleader for the hobby. Personally, I love him for it. I'd rather see more optimism on these boards than pessimism any day. Unfortunately, this being the internet, odds are not in my favor.

Thanks, MerricB, for giving us optimists a fighting chance.

As to the OP, I am excited for many reasons. I know this is against the grain of many, but I think 3.5 is way too cumbersome as characters advance in levels. With 4E being designed with that problem in mind you could say I’m very excited about the new direction. In fact, I’d say that 95% of what I’ve heard so far is exciting.

Simple as that.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Personally,even if I'm excited about the prospect of it, I've never talked about how good or bad a movie was before I've actually seen it.

Really, you never watched a trailer and commented about how good or poor the movie appears to be?

 

[hazel monday]

Really, you never watched a trailer and commented about how good or poor the movie appears to be?

Of course I have. But my comments are usually along the lines of "I hope that turns out to be as cool as it looks." I'd like to think that I can tell the difference between a preview and an actual movie.
There's a difference between saying "i hope 4E turns out to be as cool as/ better than advertised" and saying "4E is da bomb/ da anti-christ."

 

[Clavis]

I think one of the reasons I didn't stick with 3E is because it was close enough to "my D&D" that I felt like I was playing D&D, but different enough that it felt like "wrong D&D." (I'm one of the minority that doesn't consider it "better D&D".)

In my experience, quite a lot of people have found that 3rd edition wasn't better D&D at all. Every player and DM I am in regular contact with has been frustrated by its awful combat system, pointless and obsessive detailing of monsters that are supposed to be killed, and tedious character generation (it can take longer than doing your taxes for chrissakes).

I have no fears or worries about 4th edition, though - I'm sure they'll f**k it up as badly as 3rd edition.

 

[Rechan]

Of course I have. But my comments are usually along the lines of "I hope that turns out to be as cool as it looks." I'd like to think that I can tell the difference between a preview and an actual movie.
There's a difference between saying "i hope 4E turns out to be as cool as/ better than advertised" and saying "4E is da bomb/ da anti-christ."

If you knew the director for one film was Uwe Boll, with Polly Shore and Keanu Reeves as the leads, and another film was directed by Peter Jackson, with the leads Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman, I'm certain you would approach both of them neutrally, not anticipating the quality, right?