D&D Multimedia Poll - What Else Should Wizards Do?

[Thaumaturge]

For me, I'll suggest a comic book series. The recent D&D comic was a good read, or there's something like Image's new Rat Queens comic, as close to D&D as you can get without using the name.

In this Icv2 interview, Liz Schuh mentions an upcoming comic line that ties in to the Tyranny of Dragons line.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Ahnehnois]

That seems far more likely to succeed than taking on cRPG heavyweights at their own game, or coming out with something second-rate to detract from the brand.

The cRPG heavyweights are all, on some level, derivative of D&D. It's not like D&D is at a disadvantage*. I don't see why a new D&D game couldn't knock the socks off the market, given that it was done well.

*Well, it is, because the published game hasn't been in a good state for a while. Fixable, theoretically.

 

[DMZ2112]

I want a single-payment support app suite on iOS, more KRE-O, and an animated television show that's mature enough to appeal to all ages. I'll buy an official D&D t-shirt or three. After that the rest is gravy.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The cRPG heavyweights are all, on some level, derivative of D&D. It's not like D&D is at a disadvantage*. I don't see why a new D&D game couldn't knock the socks off the market, given that it was done well.

*Well, it is, because the published game hasn't been in a good state for a while. Fixable, theoretically.

The major barrier is that all the successful single-player cRPG producers have their own D&D-alternative IP, and thus no motivation to license an IP they do not control.

So you would need to find a studio without prior SP cRPG success to do this, I would think. Which is risky, to say the least.

4E could have made particularly brilliant turn-based tactical cRPGs (it's rules being well-suited for that), but WotC failed to convince anyone to do it, I note.

 

[Mercurius]

A live action television series based on Dragonlance, the Drizzt novels, or another relatively long running novel series. Make it a competitor for Game of Thrones, but give it a broader appeal (i.e. a little more family friendly).

This is exactly my suggestion. The TV series format probably better exploits the episodic feel of D&D.

That said, don't make it suck. And please no nerdy in-jokes with wink-wink, breaking-of-the-fourth-wall malarkey.

 

[DMZ2112]

That said, don't make it suck. And please no nerdy in-jokes with wink-wink, breaking-of-the-fourth-wall malarkey.

Nuts to that. If the next D&D movie doesn't open in a musty cinderblock basement with a case of Mountain Dew in the corner, no sale!

 

[Kinak]

I'm not really sure "D&D Multimedia" is where things are headed or should be headed.

D&D is more like a game console than an IP. Sure, people love the NES, but nobody is going to market an NES comic. A Mario Brothers comic? A Legend of Zelda comic? A Metroid comic? Absolutely. But not an NES comic.

"Ah, but what about Captain N and the Super Mario Brothers Super Show," you might say if you're as old as me. Those really prove the rule. Even though they're themed around the platform, they're explicitly mash-ups of the intellectual properties played on that platform. Its like Drizzt and Sturm going to fight Kalak.

The usable IPs are the actual shared experiences and characters we see in the novel lines and, potentially, adventures. Pathfinder as a whole doesn't have an audio drama; Rise of the Runelords has an audio drama. Similarly, D&D as a whole isn't getting a comic; Tyranny of Dragons is getting a comic.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[fjw70]

How about slot machines? Oh wait . . .

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/28667.html

 

[Umbran]

Print periodicals are probably not a good idea - that's a hard business to be in.

Cartoon series? Sure. But the successful ones of late (Batman and Justice League cartoons come to mind) are not "Saturday Morning" any more.

A decent console/PC game is probably a good idea. I think a good mobile game or two might even be better bang for the buck, in terms of marketing.

Background music for games is too niche a product to worry about.

Make a good, work-appropriate shirt with an embroidered D&D logo, I'd be interested. Things would sell like hotcakes from ThinkGeek, I expect.

 

[Bluenose]

The cRPG heavyweights are all, on some level, derivative of D&D. It's not like D&D is at a disadvantage*. I don't see why a new D&D game couldn't knock the socks off the market, given that it was done well.

*Well, it is, because the published game hasn't been in a good state for a while. Fixable, theoretically.

I'd not really say the major publishers systems have much to do with D&D, except in the very general sense that all RPGs owe something to the existence of D&D. Bioware are probably the closest, and they've expressed serious disinterest in working with IP they don't control - though they've made an exception for Star Wars, even if that is a distant studio.

In this Icv2 interview, Liz Schuh mentions an upcoming comic line that ties in to the Tyranny of Dragons line.

Thaumaturge.

Seems like a good idea.

I think a good mobile game or two might even be better bang for the buck, in terms of marketing.

That's why I suggest a Facebook game. They're often easily adaptable to mobile platforms, though not always. Marvel Avengers' Alliance, which I mentioned above somewhere, was on Facebook and several mobile OS.

Background music for games is too niche a product to worry about.

It's also something that already exists in huge quantities, and is very hard to tie to D&D specifically. Are there specific background sounds for D&D?