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Message: <blockquote data-quote="smerwin29" data-source="post: 4718039" data-attributes="member: 15050">A couple things.  First, this assumes that the thousands of members of the RPGA are "a subset of gamers" and are somehow not representative of WotC's audience at a whole, and I contend that assumption is incorrect.  Second, I never said "deserving the chance to playtest" meant a cool benefit.  And it certainly should NOT mean "representing a class of gamers to influence the direction of the game."  "Deserving of the chance to playtest" means being able to be counted on to follow directions, provide insight, and return relevant and accurate data and opinions.Again, this assumes that the members of the RPGA--the thousands of members with divergent play styles, likes and dislikes, and opinions on what kind of game they like to play--are not representative of the whole WotC/D&D audience.  My direct interaction with RPGA members of all stripes over the last 10 years has led me to conclude that the diversity is there.  The "throwing darts" comment was in reference to the chances you were taking with those you can trust to provide feedback--not gaming beliefs or play styles.The RPGA was used to gather some (not all) of the playtesters precisely because the organizational framework was in place to facilitate communication and know that these players could be counted on to do the work--and NOT see it just as some cool thing they get to do before other players--and take the responsibility seriously.I think people are missing a small but significant difference between market research and playtesting.  Market research should provide information to formulate the goals of the design.  Playtesting should judge the success or failure of the design in reaching those goals.  You want market research to cast that wide net--you do not necessarily want playtesting to do that.</blockquote>

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