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General Tabletop Discussion
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I think we can safely say that 5E is a success, but will it lead to a new Golden Era?
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<blockquote data-quote="Ranes" data-source="post: 6358025" data-attributes="member: 4826"><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">While the full 5e core (folks, don’t flame me; you know what I mean) have yet to appear, I think you have the right of it. From the goodwill and publicity generated by the open play test, to the free basic rules, to the first impressions of the PHB, I think the launch of 5e is going as well as anyone at WotC could have dared to hope. And that makes me happy for current and future players.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">I think the kind of success you are framing here is unlikely. I simply think the ship has sailed. Gold and silver ages have gone. The world has moved on. A pen-and-paper system is and will forever be a niche product now. The sales curve of 5 may exceed that of 4, perhaps even 3, but it’s an inexorably downward spiral in the long term. One day, an entirely online edition (which, I think, could and should have been the focus of 5) might enjoy a renaissance - and I hope it will - but the traditional format, if we can refer to books as that, will never, ever match the success the game enjoyed in the late seventies and early eighties.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">However, I don’t think the publishers expect otherwise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Yes, probably, but I don’t think this is the whole picture. Before I get on to why…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">You can argue the relationship between commercial success and artistic vitality till the cows haven’t just come home, they've emptied your humidor and finished off the Cognac. But a new golden age might not be predicated on sales of 5e books. In fact, I doubt such a thing could be based on sales of any edition now. It might, however, arise from the credibility to be had from an edition that was critically regarded beyond the realm of the fan base of the essential product, a credibility that comes from those who write, “I’m not the target audience for any kind of RPG but this is the high watermark.” That will score you film rights, if it's widespread enough. That will get you an angle that’ll say to Hollywood, “We can sell this mainstream.” And when that happens, you can forget the utterly risible D&D movies of the past and even the inherent cheesiness of D&D per se. Excuse me, we live in an era in which GI Joe and Transformers pull in multi-billion dollar audiences.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Given time and an angle, Hollywood can and does sell us anything and, when they do it well, we love it. Worse ideas than D&D have had their moment in the Sun, and the ramifications of that are tremendous.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Where were we?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">A digitally-based product, complete with virtual table and with a free core, picking up millions of people unencumbered by edition wars and lead miniatures? That’s probably just the tip of the geekberg.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">I’ve got news for you. Your better half is a geek. She’s just not a D&D or pen-and-paper gamer geek. I agree though, at least as far as the near future goes; movies are hugely important. But they won’t go into production out of a vacuum either. We need an environment that begs for exploitation. A good edition helps, sure. So does good press and an accommodation of people living in a digital try-it-for-free age, something 5e goes some way to addressing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Yep. Yep. Yep. Exactly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Or a mix of all of the above. But I put it to you that none of these things stand a chance on their own and even combined; they require the right environment and insight. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Thank you for them. That’s what I’ve done. Hope it’s piqued your interest.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Edit: I hate semi-colons but there's a time and a place, and I missed one.</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ranes, post: 6358025, member: 4826"] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]While the full 5e core (folks, don’t flame me; you know what I mean) have yet to appear, I think you have the right of it. From the goodwill and publicity generated by the open play test, to the free basic rules, to the first impressions of the PHB, I think the launch of 5e is going as well as anyone at WotC could have dared to hope. And that makes me happy for current and future players.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]I think the kind of success you are framing here is unlikely. I simply think the ship has sailed. Gold and silver ages have gone. The world has moved on. A pen-and-paper system is and will forever be a niche product now. The sales curve of 5 may exceed that of 4, perhaps even 3, but it’s an inexorably downward spiral in the long term. One day, an entirely online edition (which, I think, could and should have been the focus of 5) might enjoy a renaissance - and I hope it will - but the traditional format, if we can refer to books as that, will never, ever match the success the game enjoyed in the late seventies and early eighties.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]However, I don’t think the publishers expect otherwise.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Yes, probably, but I don’t think this is the whole picture. Before I get on to why…[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]You can argue the relationship between commercial success and artistic vitality till the cows haven’t just come home, they've emptied your humidor and finished off the Cognac. But a new golden age might not be predicated on sales of 5e books. In fact, I doubt such a thing could be based on sales of any edition now. It might, however, arise from the credibility to be had from an edition that was critically regarded beyond the realm of the fan base of the essential product, a credibility that comes from those who write, “I’m not the target audience for any kind of RPG but this is the high watermark.” That will score you film rights, if it's widespread enough. That will get you an angle that’ll say to Hollywood, “We can sell this mainstream.” And when that happens, you can forget the utterly risible D&D movies of the past and even the inherent cheesiness of D&D per se. Excuse me, we live in an era in which GI Joe and Transformers pull in multi-billion dollar audiences.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Given time and an angle, Hollywood can and does sell us anything and, when they do it well, we love it. Worse ideas than D&D have had their moment in the Sun, and the ramifications of that are tremendous.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Where were we?[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]A digitally-based product, complete with virtual table and with a free core, picking up millions of people unencumbered by edition wars and lead miniatures? That’s probably just the tip of the geekberg.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]I’ve got news for you. Your better half is a geek. She’s just not a D&D or pen-and-paper gamer geek. I agree though, at least as far as the near future goes; movies are hugely important. But they won’t go into production out of a vacuum either. We need an environment that begs for exploitation. A good edition helps, sure. So does good press and an accommodation of people living in a digital try-it-for-free age, something 5e goes some way to addressing.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Yep. Yep. Yep. Exactly.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Or a mix of all of the above. But I put it to you that none of these things stand a chance on their own and even combined; they require the right environment and insight. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial][/FONT] [FONT=Arial] [/FONT] [FONT=Arial]Thank you for them. That’s what I’ve done. Hope it’s piqued your interest. Edit: I hate semi-colons but there's a time and a place, and I missed one.[/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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I think we can safely say that 5E is a success, but will it lead to a new Golden Era?
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