D&D General Interview with D&D VP Jess Lanzillo on Comicbook.com

[bedir than]

But instead of calling those who worry about a future digital only D&D experience "gatekeepers", she could have addressed the actual concerns directly.

I agree the application of gatekeepers there is a misstep.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I'm ok with a shift to digital play, and I agree that this kind of hardhitting journalism needs to be done and they need to be kept accountable. While the slippery slope fallacy is normally incorrect, in this case, I have no doubt that WotC will sink into the same market-depravity other digital-focused media have fallen too. Abusive subscription increases every year; exclusive content that powercreeps the game; the inability to use core tools without paying for them, which you already bought once via the hardcover book -- these things need to be looked out for.

But, I am a primarily digital player, and I am hopeful that WotC puts out a good digital setup that I can enjoy BEFORE shareholder greed inevitably enshittifies it.

That's the trick though, isn't it. If they change how D&D Beyond works, you can't go back to the old way because its a hosted service. You're stuck with whatever they decide to do with it.

 

[DarkCrisis]

That reads A LOT like an intentional shift toward digital play as the primary venue.

I'm sure WotC understands that a lot of gamers love physical gaming and would never seek to make digital their main focus despite how much more lucrative it would be.

Sure, many others have pointed this out before, myself included at once time, but I have been assured that it is not the case and I firmly believe that WotC only has us gamers best interests at heart.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Also, WotC is putting 2024 rules on Roll20, Fantasy Grounds and Foundry. We know this, you've talked about this on your podcast. They haven't announced anything after the core rules yet, so there's not a reason to push that future content will be there.

Thankfully they can give more incentives to use DDB over those other sites. Things like virtual figures and dice and free books/adventures. In the DDB will be the best way to play D&D. Perhaps even better than Physical. And frankly, who doesn't want the best possible experience when playing the most current version of such a beloved franchise?

 

[Blue]

"I was probably one of the last migrators to the D&D Beyond character sheet, because I am an artist, so I just draw all of my stuff, and I want to do it in this very bespoke fashion."

This is an outright and known lie, and therefore cannot be anything but intentional. They have numbers how many people play, and they have numbers about how many people make characters on DnDBeyond - they absolutely know that she's not "one of the last migrators" to the DnDBeyond character sheet.

Why would they intentionally lie about that? Doesn't make sense, with how transparent it is to call them out.

EDIT: Corrected gender, thanks for the heads up.

EDIT2: Here are the number I was talking about in terms of number of D&D players vs. number of DnDBeyond users, showing she's not one of the last migrators.

D&D Players
~40-48 million (circa 2020-2021)

How many D&D players are there? — M.T. Black Games

This article presents an estimate of the number of people currently playing Dungeons & Dragons around the world and also discusses historical estimates.

www.mtblackgames.com

"However, Wizards of the Coast released the infographic at the bottom of this page in early 2020 which states that D&D had “over 40 million fans around the world.” We also know from a Hasbro earnings call in late 2020 that D&D has enjoyed a 20% increase in sales over the previous year. Assuming sales roughly correlate with the size of the fan base, we can estimate that by the end of 2020, Dungeons & Dragons had over 48 million fans around the world."

DnD Beyond Users
~10 million (circa 2022)

https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1221-d-d-beyond-joins-wizards-of-the-coast

EDIT3: I have had pointed out that another valid way of reading the quote was him talking about his personal table. I didn't take it like that, and my call-out was based on how I read it. But it could be incorrect if that's what he was referring to.

 

[Demetrios1453]

I'm seeing a lot of people miss the

"I'm a big fan of being able to provide play experiences to people any way they want to play them," Lanzillo continued.

part.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

My key takeaways:

• Mentions a desire to revisiting previous locations and giving them "a new coat of paint"
• They're apparently considering more smaller and niche releases in-between the larger books
• Dig at Gary Gygax: "We're not Gary Gygax. We're not going to tell you the right way to play."
• Says that complex mechanics related to roleplay would be best served in a hypothetical optional "romantasy" supplement and that the core of D&D is more about combat.

 

[Christian Hoffer]

In regards to the physical releases, Lanzillo mentioned that there were no plans to move away from physical during a Q&A session earlier in the day. There's a quote that didn't make the final interview where she pushes back on the idea of digital pivots in general and talks about how she wants to "give people the experiences for wherever they're at in their life and whoever the people are around them."

 

[Demetrios1453]

"I was probably one of the last migrators to the D&D Beyond character sheet, because I am an artist, so I just draw all of my stuff, and I want to do it in this very bespoke fashion."

This is an outright and known lie, and therefore cannot be anything but intentional. They have numbers how many people play, and they have numbers about how many people make characters on DnDBeyond - they absolutely know that he's not "one of the last migrators" to the DnDBeyond character sheet.

Why would they intentionally lie about that? Doesn't make sense, with how transparent it is to call them out.

"Last" as in "most recent", not "last" as in "final one".

Also, she, not he.

 

[Christian Hoffer]

"I was probably one of the last migrators to the D&D Beyond character sheet, because I am an artist, so I just draw all of my stuff, and I want to do it in this very bespoke fashion."

This is an outright and known lie, and therefore cannot be anything but intentional. They have numbers how many people play, and they have numbers about how many people make characters on DnDBeyond - they absolutely know that he's not "one of the last migrators" to the DnDBeyond character sheet.

Why would they intentionally lie about that? Doesn't make sense, with how transparent it is to call them out.

Wait....are you saying that I should have....pushed back about her saying that she was a late adapter of D&D Beyond?