D&D 5E I guess Jon Schindehette out. Bad news for D&D NEXT?

[JeffB]

I wish the guy the best of luck, but based on his work previous, and what he has been talking about in his column, IMO this is not a bad thing, as I do not jive with his ideas of the look of D&D.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I wish the guy the best of luck, but based on his work previous, and what he has been talking about in his column, IMO this is not a bad thing, as I do not jive with his ideas of the look of D&D.

I always thought a position at a major game company meant a dream job with low pay. Sooner or later a man grows up and needs a grown man's income. How's salaries at Wizards'?

 

[Warbringer]

I always thought a position at a major game company meant a dream job with low pay. Sooner or later a man grows up and needs a grown man's income. How's salaries at Wizards'?

From Glassdoor.com

Director $105-115K (2 listings)
Game Designer $60-67K (4 listings)

 

[billd91]

This has been the explanation of Monte and Stan! for why they left, and I would imagine Cordell's as well (although I do not remember hearing him say that specifically.) I imagine this must be a Hasbro-mandated rule when it comes to working there full-time... and it's a bitter pill to swallow if you are not willing to plunge head first into the "D&D all the time!" body of water.

Fortunately for WotC, there is no shortage of people who are probably willing to jump down that rabbit hole to work on D&D, and thus they can replace those folks with cheaper and more single-minded alternatives.

I guess that's the case, but it really seems to be costing them some experienced talent. I don't believe I've ever seen Monte offer this up as the explanation for why left - though ever since Stan! posted on his blog about it, I've suspected that's the case.

Ultimately, they're in an industry in which I think a policy like that is not good for retention of employees (though I'm not sure that's ever really been a significant concern for Hasbro-era WotC). They're creative people and there's lots of opportunity for free lancing and self-publishing. I suppose the suit mentality looks at that as a competitive threat for their employees' ideas, but lately it really seems to be a threat for their employees' overall employment.

 

[Frostmarrow]

From Glassdoor.com

Director $105-115K (2 listings)
Game Designer $60-67K (4 listings)

From my perspective - not too shabby. But I haven't got anywhere near Jon's talent in anything. I hope for him the very best. I'm a fan.

 

[mykesfree]

When I used to work at DC Comics on staff as a Sales and Marketing person, you signed away any ability to freelance in any capacity. Even when I gave a 3 weeks notice to DC and work within the publishing industry, I was shown the door that day. Also the salaries shown are in line with publishing industry standards.

 

[n00bdragon]

You almost get the feeling that Hasbro and to some extent WotC itself sees D&D the tabletop RPG as a cost of doing business rather than a source of revenue.

 

[DEFCON 1]

You almost get the feeling that Hasbro and to some extent WotC itself sees D&D the tabletop RPG as a cost of doing business rather than a source of revenue.

On the contrary... I suspect WotC knows that a new set of books are going to sell many copies regardless of the names on the cover.

 

[MortalPlague]

I don't believe I've ever seen Monte offer this up as the explanation for why left...

I think the almost-immediate announcement of Numenera is some pretty strong evidence on that one.

 

[fjw70]

I wish Jon the best of luck, but this is no big deal to me. I like my RPG books to have art in them, but I am not real picky about now it looks.