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Jon Peterson: Does System Matter?
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<blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8206327" data-attributes="member: 7023840"><p>There are two separate, but interrelated, issues:</p><p></p><p>The first is path dependency. For those not familiar with it, the easiest way to explain it is, for example, the internal combustion engine and automobiles. If you were designing a transportation system, from scratch, today, you could probably think of a lot of better ways to do it than to use cars (that require pavement, highways, parking, etc., that all require maintenance) and gas-powered ICE (that comes with its own issues). However, once you start down that path, it becomes harder and harder to switch; the transaction costs to switching to something "better" are so high, that it is very very difficult to do so, even though it might not have been the optimal choice if starting from scratch. It's not enough for something to be better- it has to be really, really, really better. If that example doesn't work for you, think about why we aren't all using the DVORAK keyboard. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>The second is that people often misunderstand what really matters when it comes to design. There are innumerable examples of "better" products losing out in the market place because the designers (engineers, artists, product managers) didn't take into account what matters to the consumers. The classic example is the VHS/Betamax battle; Betamax (by Sony) was first to the market, and superior in technology. But it lost the format war. Why? Three reasons (more or less). VHS concentrated on length- so it could show a full movie before the early Betamax movies could. JVC sought out the rental market, while Sony did not (and people wanted to rent movies). And finally, JVC licensed its technology to other makers before Sony would. So while Sony concentrated on the aspects of design that they were sure would matter (picture and sound quality) they were destroyed in the marketplace because consumers had different interests; in short, they weren't engineers.</p><p></p><p>Not to echo that phrase ("system matters") but what <em>matters </em>to people can be very idiosyncratic. It is interesting that 5e is widely considered successful- maybe the most successful D&D edition launch - and that 5e went through extensive player testing and feedback (and because it's D&D, it was able to get a larger group for that than any other RPG can dream of). In other words, instead of insisting on what type of rules and lore the consumers would love because it was the right one, they took the safer approach of tailoring the game to what consumers revealed as their actual preferences.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Snarf Zagyg, post: 8206327, member: 7023840"] There are two separate, but interrelated, issues: The first is path dependency. For those not familiar with it, the easiest way to explain it is, for example, the internal combustion engine and automobiles. If you were designing a transportation system, from scratch, today, you could probably think of a lot of better ways to do it than to use cars (that require pavement, highways, parking, etc., that all require maintenance) and gas-powered ICE (that comes with its own issues). However, once you start down that path, it becomes harder and harder to switch; the transaction costs to switching to something "better" are so high, that it is very very difficult to do so, even though it might not have been the optimal choice if starting from scratch. It's not enough for something to be better- it has to be really, really, really better. If that example doesn't work for you, think about why we aren't all using the DVORAK keyboard. :) The second is that people often misunderstand what really matters when it comes to design. There are innumerable examples of "better" products losing out in the market place because the designers (engineers, artists, product managers) didn't take into account what matters to the consumers. The classic example is the VHS/Betamax battle; Betamax (by Sony) was first to the market, and superior in technology. But it lost the format war. Why? Three reasons (more or less). VHS concentrated on length- so it could show a full movie before the early Betamax movies could. JVC sought out the rental market, while Sony did not (and people wanted to rent movies). And finally, JVC licensed its technology to other makers before Sony would. So while Sony concentrated on the aspects of design that they were sure would matter (picture and sound quality) they were destroyed in the marketplace because consumers had different interests; in short, they weren't engineers. Not to echo that phrase ("system matters") but what [I]matters [/I]to people can be very idiosyncratic. It is interesting that 5e is widely considered successful- maybe the most successful D&D edition launch - and that 5e went through extensive player testing and feedback (and because it's D&D, it was able to get a larger group for that than any other RPG can dream of). In other words, instead of insisting on what type of rules and lore the consumers would love because it was the right one, they took the safer approach of tailoring the game to what consumers revealed as their actual preferences. [/QUOTE]
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