How did you experience the WotC Setting Search

[Jürgen Hubert]

I am supposed to write an article about the (in)famous Setting Search that ultimately culminated in the Eberron campaign setting. I participated in this search myself, so I have at least some material to start with, but I'd like to hear some other perspectives.

How did you experience the Setting Search - either as an observer or as a participant? From its earliest announcments to the declaration of the winner?

And for those of you with access to the Search function, could you please dig out some relevant threads for me? In particular, I remember something about an "Unofficial FAQ" around here...

 

[BiggusGeekus]

That search drove me nuts.

Thing is, when it came out, I already had the hundred pages. But I panicked and made some boo-boos on the entry form. So I resubmitted, leaving them with two copies of the same proposal. I am positive they just junked them, hey if Biggus can't follow simple instructions, it's unlikely he can see the project through, right?

When I got my hands on Eberron, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was clearly non-traditional fantasy. The original guidelines had asked for something more traditional and so all my ideas were along those lines. It's pretty obvious what happened. After being innudated with elves and orcs the dino halfings were a breath of fresh air. And Keith's a pretty good writer, so it isn't like it was just handed off to a chump. Also, if you look at Eberron, you can see that it's highly zoned. Perfect for an MMORPG. That would never have occured to me.

 

[Turanil]

I was convinced that my idea (about which I thought a lot, to make something original and playable) was a most brilliant idea. Then, since sending from Europe, and also since I sent at the last moment, I had to pay 30$ for shipment! Needless to say that when I discovered this Eberron setting, I was much disappointed. I esteemed my own idea was soooo much better!! (I won't tell you... you would probably find it boring... )

In any case, out 10,000 submissions (for what I know, maybe I am wrong), even the BEST idea would have a hard time to reach to the top. In fact the more I think of it, the more I am tempted to believe this: This "Setting Search" was in fact a clever marketing survey. I mean, to know what people really want as a setting, just compare all submissions and make statistics as what comes the most often. Then, take the submission that is closest to that, and you have a winner (i.e.: the setting that most people proposed, because it was their view of what a setting should be.

 

[Belen]

Ugh, I stupidly gave my setting to a d20 company thinking that I had a chance to get it published. In the end, they went out of business and sold it to another d20 company and I did not get a dime nor any credit for the work. It really bites to see stuff you created appear and not even be acknowledged for writing it.

I stopped writing RPG material at that point and went back to writing my novel. So I viewed the whole setting search in a negative light.

 

[diaglo]

In any case, out 10,000 submissions (for what I know, maybe I am wrong)

was a little over 11000


i sent in my OD&D proposal. they wanted 1 page i sent them three booklets worth.

 

[hong]

I handled the disappointment of not seeing my setting submission win by not submitting a setting in the first place. An easy decision to make, given that my setting is basically one big honkin' copyright violation.

 

[Zappo]

I participated 'cause hey, it didn't cost me anything. But I never thought I had a real chance at winning. At least, it gave me a chance of focusing a campaign setting concept which had been buzzing in my mind for a while. Who knows, maybe some day I'll even be able to run it.

 

[Numion]

In any case, out 10,000 submissions (for what I know, maybe I am wrong), even the BEST idea would have a hard time to reach to the top. In fact the more I think of it, the more I am tempted to believe this: This "Setting Search" was in fact a clever marketing survey. I mean, to know what people really want as a setting, just compare all submissions and make statistics as what comes the most often. Then, take the submission that is closest to that, and you have a winner (i.e.: the setting that most people proposed, because it was their view of what a setting should be.

The more I think of the setting contest and general discussions about it, the more I regret not investing in a company that sells tinfoil hats

Funniest was the guy who didn't enter because he thought his homebrew would net him so much more than 110K$ outside the contest. Hmm .. whats he doing now?

 

[Davelozzi]

I participated as an observer. In earlier days, getting a chance to be the designer of a new setting would have been a dream come true for me. But by the time the search rolled around, and especially based on what Wizards was asking for, it was clear to me that what was to my taste in a setting was not what they were looking for.

Besides, though my homebrew was not exactly "one big honkin' copyright violation" like hong's, it did borrow freely from lots of sources, including some of Wizard's own. After all, I put it together as the world I wanted to run games in for my friends, not the next best thing in gaming.

In fact the more I think of it, the more I am tempted to believe this: This "Setting Search" was in fact a clever marketing survey. I mean, to know what people really want as a setting, just compare all submissions and make statistics as what comes the most often. Then, take the submission that is closest to that, and you have a winner (i.e.: the setting that most people proposed, because it was their view of what a setting should be.

But Wizards gave guidelines of what kind of setting they were looking for so that would have totally skewed the offerings.

 

[Desdichado]

When I got my hands on Eberron, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was clearly non-traditional fantasy. The original guidelines had asked for something more traditional and so all my ideas were along those lines. It's pretty obvious what happened. After being innudated with elves and orcs the dino halfings were a breath of fresh air. And Keith's a pretty good writer, so it isn't like it was just handed off to a chump. Also, if you look at Eberron, you can see that it's highly zoned. Perfect for an MMORPG. That would never have occured to me.

That's simply not true. Well, the part about Keith apparently being a good guy and good writer is, but there were no guidelines that the setting be traditional and even if there were, traditional is more broadly applicable than you seem to be giving it credit for. Eberron is clearly in the vein of what they were looking for.

In one of Valterra's unofficial FAQ type posts, he did use the word traditional to describe what they were looking for, but it was clear that by traditional he meant little more than "includes elves, dwarves, and all other standard D&D conventions, and probably better not go off into splinter genre's like steampunk." Even then, he also said quite clearly that non-traditional would not at all be impossible to sell, it would jsut be a harder sell. If it was that good, though, it'd fly no matter how untraditional. However, the original context of his words have been misinterpreted quite broadly and ubiquitously in the gamer community, mostly because nobody bothers to look at the original context in which he said it, they just make vague (and inaccurate) statements like, well, like, "The original guidelines had asked for something more traditional."