Spelljammer Chris Perkins and Ray Winninger Interview Discussing Spelljammer and Product Development

[Parmandur]

Chris Perkins and Ray Winninger discuss the product development process in this interview about Spelljammer;

“All of these processes basically span about 12 to 15 months of time. Plus all that upfront time I was talking about earlier, plus the actual printing time at the end, that gets you in the range of about 18 to 24 months [for the complete project],” Mr Perkins said.

Art, Science and Wizardry: Bringing Back Classic D&D Settings - Game on Aus

Art, Science and Wizardry: Bringing Back Classic D&D Settings. FANS of Dungeons & Dragons were very excited by the announcements of the return of the Spelljammer and Dragonlance settings to the game’s fifth...

www.gameonaus.com

 

[Kurotowa]

A lot of it isn't new, but this quote did jump out at me. "Other factors we consider are things like ‘Do we have an idea to sufficiently differentiate this experience from the other worlds?’"

See that? That's why every setting book they put out has a hook or gimmick to make it unique, and that's why there's no Greyhawk book on the release list.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

That can be done with Greyhawk though I don't expect a book soon.

 

[bedir than]

A lot of it isn't new, but this quote did jump out at me. "Other factors we consider are things like ‘Do we have an idea to sufficiently differentiate this experience from the other worlds?’"

See that? That's why every setting book they put out has a hook or gimmick to make it unique, and that's why there's no Greyhawk book on the release list.

It also is probably why not ever character will start with a Feat. Not every one of the modern settings do. Just the ones that need that tool to increase the definition of the world-space.

 

[overgeeked]

This quote, and quotes like it, make me think that we'll not see Greyhawk anytime soon.

"Do we have an idea to sufficiently differentiate this experience from the other worlds?"

As much as you can push the Game of Thrones angle or the blank map angle...there's nothing stopping you from doing that in just about any setting. Those aren't uniquely Greyhawk.

 

[lkj]

With regard to Greyhawk. Eh. We'll see. The 50 year anniversary might be enough of a hook for a slipcase release. And, as has been argued at great length in other threads, I think they could find a story/theme that takes advantage of Greyhawk's flavor in a way that differentiates it substantially from FR. But, obviously, this is all in the realm of subjective assessment. So those who think it's possible will be sure it can be done, and those who think it isn't will be convinced that none of the suggested hooks are different enough. In the end, it'll come down to the market research and subjective opinions of WotC.

And one other important factor mentioned in that article-- whether folks on the design team have a passion for the setting and hook. That, I think, might be what sinks or puts it over the top (presuming their market research hasn't told them it is definitely a bad idea).

I, for one, will keep my sliver of hope alive (while also not being surprised or upset if nothing comes of it).

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[vecna00]

This article is a pretty good read, I always love being able to peak behind the curtain and get more information about how things are done.

 

[glass]

Interesting article, although I really would not describe Spelljammer and sci-fi as having anything to do with one another.

_
glass.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I guess they mean "How to publish anything enough original to avoid other companies to publish a ersatz or ripoff version?".

 

[DEFCON 1]

Their biggest stan for Greyhawk in the company seemed to be Mike Mearls... so they'd have to be okay with bringing him back into the department as a contractor (if nothing else) if they wanted that "we have people who are motivated to work on at any given time." They of course could try and work on it without him, but if they really wanted "the best people for the writing and editing team", it'd seem kind of silly not to. So if they don't want to bring him in based on the big kerfluffles several year ago... they probably just won't do Greyhawk.

The questions of course are whether WotC would want to bring Mike back in at all anyways... if they could bring Mike back, knowing that a segment of the playerbase would automatically crap on it for what happened way back when... whether Mike could or would apologize (in any form or fashion) for any mistakes he made and whether than would be accepted by the playerbase who are still po'd over the situation... and whether Greyhawk is worth opening up that potential can of worms in the first place.

Personally... I just don't seem them looking backwards in that way and trying to skirt around the end of Mike tenure just to get Greyhawk into production. It doesn't seem worth it to me. Yeah, the old guard would love to see the "original" setting brought back for the 50th anniversary, but if you alienate all of the new generation to do so that just seems counter-productive to moving D&D on into the next 50 years.