MarauderX
Explorer
A separate thread for those who have run into WotC staff members and asked a few questions.
I chatted with Andy Collins & James Wyatt separately yesterday.
Andy Collins was a great DM who ran the ongoing Delve 4E adventure. He was accurate, consistant, and a fast-running DM; He was awesome, and the best Con DM I've ever had. He was glad to be there running the game in front of people, and answering their many questions in person as opposed to over the phone. Andy fielded a number of questions on D&D XP's downgraded benefits for DMs with the practiced style of a business manager. His answer was that sometimes cuts need to be made to ensure the convention runs well, and with the vast number of DM volunteers, it becomes easier to cut down on the free rooms, meals, swag, and other amenities.
I asked James about the 'numbers' for 4E and he replied that one gentleman, whose name now escapes me, is in charge of it for all of the game. They did not contract a third party to double check or hire a separate person as sometimes occurs with MMORPGs or other video games. When asked about reliability and whether there was risk of needing to tweek the game (release 4.5), James was confident that the game was solid and said "Only after there are a few dead bodies, many dead bodies, will there be a 4.5."
I also asked James about his books and wondered why they didn't have the reviews that nearly all of the other books in the genre have. He said that it gets a bit hectic, and though it was slated for heavier promotion, there wasn't a pre-release to reviewers before it was published.
I chatted with Andy Collins & James Wyatt separately yesterday.
Andy Collins was a great DM who ran the ongoing Delve 4E adventure. He was accurate, consistant, and a fast-running DM; He was awesome, and the best Con DM I've ever had. He was glad to be there running the game in front of people, and answering their many questions in person as opposed to over the phone. Andy fielded a number of questions on D&D XP's downgraded benefits for DMs with the practiced style of a business manager. His answer was that sometimes cuts need to be made to ensure the convention runs well, and with the vast number of DM volunteers, it becomes easier to cut down on the free rooms, meals, swag, and other amenities.
I asked James about the 'numbers' for 4E and he replied that one gentleman, whose name now escapes me, is in charge of it for all of the game. They did not contract a third party to double check or hire a separate person as sometimes occurs with MMORPGs or other video games. When asked about reliability and whether there was risk of needing to tweek the game (release 4.5), James was confident that the game was solid and said "Only after there are a few dead bodies, many dead bodies, will there be a 4.5."
I also asked James about his books and wondered why they didn't have the reviews that nearly all of the other books in the genre have. He said that it gets a bit hectic, and though it was slated for heavier promotion, there wasn't a pre-release to reviewers before it was published.
