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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Toben the Many" data-source="post: 4746674" data-attributes="member: 19273">I think there seems to be some misconceptions here in this thread. First and foremost, many people seem to be presuming that a) WotC once was an industry leader and is now no longer an industry leader, or that b) WotC was and still is an industry leader, or that c) WotC was never an industry leader.WotC is far bigger than just D&D. There's a that Magic: The Gathering thing. Then, there's Pokemon, and other card games. There's Heroscape. Etc. I'm not as in the loop with CCGs as others are, so I don't know if WotC is an overall leader in pulp gaming (games which use paper as their primary medium) or not. Now, I think a more apt question is - Is D&D still the industry leader, in terms of innovation and game design? And more importantly, are D&D's game design choices leading the industry in a particular direction? My response is that people need to understand that D&D has not always been the leader in innovation and game design. I remember 2nd Ed as being perhaps the least innovative game on the TTRPG market when it was out. Other systems like ShadowRun, White Wolf, and Deadlands - IMO - were far more innovative in design. As a quick aside, I think that one could make a good argument that 2nd Ed was fairly innovative in terms of setting, but that's another story.I think that 3rd Edition was obviously innovative in terms of game design. So many people hopped on board. There was a time in which everything was d20. Not only that, but more importantly, we see echoes of d20 everywhere. Even in the new White Wolf system. Is 4th Edition innovative? Sure. I think you'd be hard pressed to argue that it's not, simply because we've never seen a game system quite like it. However, is it going to lead the industry in terms of game design? I don't think it will.This is not a knock against 4th Edition, which is a fine system. However, it does what it does in a very, very specific manner. It's not a generic system. When you play 4th Ed, you are playing a particular kind of game. So it's not adaptable to any setting or any genre. For example, if you want to play a gritty, realistic game where you track your rations, you get injured easily, and healing is hard to come by...well 4th Edition is not going to work for you. Here's another example. Let's say you want to play a horror game where the heroes are mere mortals and have very little capabilities against the forces of darkness. Those few abilities they have, too, cost each hero a portion of their sanity or humanity. Can you play a game like that in 4th Ed? No. I don't think as many 3rd party publishers will hop on board. I don't think that 4th Edition is a "universal toolikit" like d20 was. But, in the end, I think that's good for D&D. I think there will be far less brand dilution. Finally, look at what the 3rd party publishers are doing. They are going their own way. Wizards & Warlocks, Pathfinder, Warhammer Fantasy, etc. Ultimately, I think this is a good thing. We'll see more innovation over all in this way.</blockquote>

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