layoffs?
- Status
Henry
Autoexreginated
Next business venture for George Lucas -- he starts a nationwide chain of retirement homes, called Skywalker Ranch, where residents have scheduled D&D days, they show Star Wars movies (only the first trilogy, of course, no use upsetting the residents!) and other genre stuff for movie night, and all the dessert cups are shaped like little R2-D2's or bowls with Spider-Man or Captain America designs in the bottoms...
Given the success of the Star Trek themed casino (that recently closed), themed resorts (like the Ice Hotel) and other pop-culture trends, I wouldn't be surprised to see communities (retirement; any age but gated; resorts, etc.) based on pop cultural icons- be they books, comics, cartoons or what have you- springing up.
Probably in Japan first, THEN the USA.
One thing is for sure, I hope I don't wind up retiring to either an X-Files or Bubba Ho-Tep community...
Probably in Japan first, THEN the USA.
One thing is for sure, I hope I don't wind up retiring to either an X-Files or Bubba Ho-Tep community...
TheGM
First Post
Don't want to sidetrack too much, but I spoke to a terrain developer who told me people do indeed spend more on hobbies - they don't buy that car, house, or $3000 dollar computer, they don't spend 5 bucks a drink in the bar, instead they stay home and buy his products. He says that every economic downturn since he started his business has resulted in increased sales.
Of course, the "I don't want to sidetrack..." part is because he's one business and not an industry-wide trend, but it was an interesting conversation when I had it.
I think how far down has a lot to do with how well they satisfy customer needs too - the mainstream media starting layoffs already? Not a surprise to me. WoTC - even though I'm not a 4E fan? Surprise to me.
Don.
firesnakearies
Explorer
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
I'm going to trust my golden years to the man who sold out my childhood memories? I don't think so.
Not unless you want me to sit there in my room all day, screaming at the nurses, "HAN SHOT FIRST!"
Really Sad
I can't believe I was too busy looking up the rules on Stinking Cloud to read about this.
This is very sad news. Dave Noonan was a sort of hero of mine when I started playing again. He's been the voice of D&D to me through the Podcasts and I loved his articles about the Dungeon Delve format that he posted. It changed how I played D&D.
When I saw the layout of 4th edition products, I saw his work in it. I saw how much easier to use the D&D adventures are. I saw the constant shift to making sure that things work well at the table first.
I think Dave had a big influence over 4e's philosophy and I think the game overall is much better for it. He had a lot of philosophies about usability that I hope are not lost.
I also hope to see his work again elsewhere.
I don't know the others very well but personally speaking, I think a focus on "digital initiatives" is a mistake for Wizards. A character generator, online compendium, Dragon, and Dungeon are fine. The Character Portrait Generator is a complete waste of time and money. I couldn't care less for a WoW / EQ2 character generator. I also think the digital game table is going to take far more work than it will be worth. Wizards should keep their team small and build the best paper products in the industry. They should outsource required electronic components (like the Creator) and license their brand to companies that have experience building things like the game table (a NWN online component or the like).
Spreading yourself too thin can be a major problem. I'd much rather have seen them dump the digital stuff and keep guys like Dave. Firing Dave was a mistake.
Dave, I'm hoping you manage to get through the 19 pages of posts to read this. You made the game better for me and for my group. We're happier people because of your work. I hope you stay in the industry and keep putting out the quality we've sen before.
Thank you.
I can't believe I was too busy looking up the rules on Stinking Cloud to read about this.
This is very sad news. Dave Noonan was a sort of hero of mine when I started playing again. He's been the voice of D&D to me through the Podcasts and I loved his articles about the Dungeon Delve format that he posted. It changed how I played D&D.
When I saw the layout of 4th edition products, I saw his work in it. I saw how much easier to use the D&D adventures are. I saw the constant shift to making sure that things work well at the table first.
I think Dave had a big influence over 4e's philosophy and I think the game overall is much better for it. He had a lot of philosophies about usability that I hope are not lost.
I also hope to see his work again elsewhere.
I don't know the others very well but personally speaking, I think a focus on "digital initiatives" is a mistake for Wizards. A character generator, online compendium, Dragon, and Dungeon are fine. The Character Portrait Generator is a complete waste of time and money. I couldn't care less for a WoW / EQ2 character generator. I also think the digital game table is going to take far more work than it will be worth. Wizards should keep their team small and build the best paper products in the industry. They should outsource required electronic components (like the Creator) and license their brand to companies that have experience building things like the game table (a NWN online component or the like).
Spreading yourself too thin can be a major problem. I'd much rather have seen them dump the digital stuff and keep guys like Dave. Firing Dave was a mistake.
Dave, I'm hoping you manage to get through the 19 pages of posts to read this. You made the game better for me and for my group. We're happier people because of your work. I hope you stay in the industry and keep putting out the quality we've sen before.
Thank you.
An economy of any kind is an extremely complex system. I don't want to devolve into politics, either...but I think it's poor practice to believe that there has to be blame assigned when economies fall, or praise when they do well.
Actual blame normally can't be assigned because too many things are involved, and the human need to point fingers and find the enemy makes us very susceptible to plays on those needs - if someone can convincingly point a finger, they can get us to do what they want.
I agree with what you are saying 100%. But then when I was talking about the problems of the current system of economy that have been leading to the current results people justified the system by the existance of the balancing forces of responsability. Well I just asked them to show me in practice. Claro?
Just to share and expand on this, Michael Marshall Smith's "What you make it" a short story from 1999, is set in a Disney-esque retirement village.
Last edited:
- Status
