Hasbro CEO: "D&D is Really on a Tear"

Sorry, that laugh was a result of clumsy fingers on my phone.

 

[Dire Bare]

I choose to read good news as good news. Why borrow trouble?

Because we are the internet, and we exist to destroy all that is joyful in the world with incessant negativity.

 

[Mercurius]

Can I just call attention to the civility of this thread?

I don't know if it's the Grand Unifying Force of Fifth Edition, the current subscriber make-up of ENWorld, or the simple fact that we're all getting older, but I feel like I'm noticing a trend. The sheer amount of "XP given to such-and-such poster" is crazy, and this thread isn't the only one.

So, thank you to everyone posting in this thread, and in the ENWorld forums, of late. Apologies for misunderstandings, recognition of alternative viewpoints, appreciation for others' ideas...

I've been a regular here for years, but I have to say... this is a pretty nice place to hang out again. So, thank you.

In other words, thank you [MENTION=697]mearls[/MENTION] for giving us a game that there's so little to bicker about.

Or rather, damn it [MENTION=697]mearls[/MENTION]! You killed our nerdrage (and took its stuff)!

 

[Talmek]

I must admit, I'm pretty stoked about the fact that things are "nice" here. As a matter of fact, it was negative interactions in the WotC forum that brought me here, and I've yet to be disappointed!

No, please, I'm begging you...don't be *that* guy...

 

[pemerton]

I'm aware that they do very good business (here in the UK most of them dominate the board games market), but as a board gamer, I can tell you that as games, it sucks that they're still the top sellers. They range from (arguably) passable to truly terrible designs. Modern board games moved past them eons ago

I'd still argue that most of the games listed are quite poor. I'm not saying you can't have fun playing them, but they really have been superseded by better designs

<snip>

To be honest, when I ripped into those games, I didn't mean to offend anyone - this is a gaming forum, and I assumed awareness of how badly regarded those games are with board gamers. It was more of an in-joke than anything, that I though everyone would be in on. I didn't know there would be avid fans who would be offended.

Like [MENTION=6701829]Trickster Spirit[/MENTION] I found this pretty amusing, because the same line you run against the "trad" boardgames is the line frequently run against D&D - in the 80s by fans of process sim systems like Runequest, Rolemaster and (arguably) HERO, and more recently by fans of "indie" RPGs (who tend to have at least some overlap with 4e fandom, at least on these boards).

D&D 5e is actually a good game when compared to other modern games of the same type. But sure, I guess indie RPG fans probably feel similarly about it. I guess the main thing is to try what's out there and decide what you like.

I think that 5e mixes elements of "modern"/"indie" RPG design with elements of trad design. It's less "modern" than 4e was - I think a reasonable comparison is 13th Age, but they take slightly different approaches to a few key points, leading to divergence overall.

One thing I think it shows - which Mearls made quite a point of in some of his columns during the 5e playtest - is that, at least from the point of view of prospective RPG customers (and maybe game customers more generally?), design is not the be-all and end-all.

 

[Zak S]

Shout out to my boy @Mercurius, with whom I am apparently one mind.

Nothing is stopping you, friend. You have eyes, ears, experience, and opinions, haven't you? You're definitely correct that self-awareness is healthy, but it's natural to hope and speculate for the future, especially about one of your interests..

There's an important thing stopping me:

I do not ever want someone to think something that isn't true just because of something I said or wrote.

If I go "I am not sure about this but here's my prediction..." and someone takes my word as gospel and I'm wrong , that's their fault. I gave them every opportunity not to. I said I wasn't sure, which means even what I know doesn't guarantee it.

If I go "Ok, I consulted on 5e and much of what I know is NDA'ed and talk to lots of people who play D&D all the time I tell you what, this is what's gonna happen..." and someone believes me and I'm wrong, then it's partially my own fault for pretending I knew something I was only guessing about, despite having spent time with the problem.

A lot of people forget that while you and I and all the commenters may be jaded RPGers who take all pronouncements with a grain of salt, a lot of people who are new to the hobby (or the internet discussion of it) may simply believe what they read, especially if it is presented as fact or as seemingly informed by information they don't have access to.

Every time someone says something that isn't true, it not only adds to the possibility of someone making a mistake about that thing, it adds to the general noise factor--the degree of presumed salt you have to take when talking to people.

Ideally, there should be zero noise. You want to know what Caves of the Pig Minotaur is like, you come, you ask questions, you get 100% true answers and clear explanations of personal experience with the thing in question with total context and you waste no time because you can trust everything you hear.

And then--wonderfully--you can get off the internet and go do something else.

Every time there's something that isn't quite right, you're making people more skeptical and slowing own that process, introducing sludge into the system.

So I appreciate people who say only things that they can take to the bank and report guesses as guesses and only facts as certainties.

 

[MechaPilot]

Maybe it's just my cynical or pessimistic side showing through, but am I the only one who feels a little concerned that the Hasbro CEO is noticing D&D? It makes me start imagining things like a Michael Bay D&D movie -shudder-

 

[Hussar]

Maybe it's just my cynical or pessimistic side showing through, but am I the only one who feels a little concerned that the Hasbro CEO is noticing D&D? It makes me start imagining things like a Michael Bay D&D movie -shudder-

Yeah, because turning D&D into a BILLION dollar movie franchise would just suck so hard. :/

 

[Zak S]

Pretty easy Gordian knot to untangle:

1. Good, big-budget D&D movie: Good.

2. Bad, big-budget D&D movie: Bad.

3. No big-budget D&D movie at all: not great, but, depending on POV, maybe better than 2, maybe not.

 

[MechaPilot]

Yeah, because turning D&D into a BILLION dollar movie franchise would just suck so hard. :/

Transformers may be a million dollar movie franchise, but it somehow managed to accomplish that with REALLY crappy films. If they make D&D movies, I want them to make good ones, not special effects extravaganzas where one character actually carries a laminated card to explain to the audience why he can legally plow the protagonists underage daughter.

 

[Hussar]

Sure, I'd love that too. OTOH, the fact that those four movies have actually made more money than D&D has ever made in 40 years, means that I would much rather have successful than good, if I'm only allowed one or the other.