Thanks to an upswell in online support, the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired LEGO Idea Dungeon Master reached its goal of 10,000 supporters in just one month and is now on track to become a potential LEGO product. Will it succeed where other D&D brick-themed projects have failed?
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[h=3]Back into the Dungeon[/h] We previously discussed the possibilities of LEGOs being used as a miniature and terrain replacement in "Will LEGO Ever Replace Miniatures? " LEGO has flirted with the idea of a D&D-style game before, with its short-lived HEROICA series that mimicked dungeon-crawling. There are also D&D-branded LEGO-compatible figures, but nothing on the scale of a true D&D-style dungeon crawl...until Ymarilego proposed Dungeon Master. Dungeon Master is described as:
The dungeon includes six minifigures along with three player character figures.
[h=3]Running the Gauntlet[/h] LEGO Ideas is a crowdsourcing tool to theoretically let the best ideas float to the top. It includes photos and 3D-renderings, along with a written proposal. The recommended pieces to build the set cannot be higher than 3,000, the maximum that fit into a single box.
Projects go through a series of challenges to be considered by LEGO. The goal is 10,000 supporters, but there are several challenges along the way. The project must reach 100 supporters within 60 days -- reaching that number gives the project an additional year to reach 1,000 supporters. After reaching 1,000 supporters, the project is granted six more months to reach 5,000 supporters. At the 5,000 supporter mark, the project has an additional six months to reach 10,000 suppoters. Assuming an Idea meets its deadlines, it has a year and two months to reach the review board.
To give you an idea of just how popular Dungeon Master is, it hit 1,000 supporters on January 25, 2017 and blew through its 10,000 supporter goal in under one month on February 16, 2017. In comparison, one of the featured LEGO Ideas (LEGO Mystery Science Theater 3000) has 6,844 supporters with 514 days to go.
[h=3]Dungeon Master, Your Guide to the World...[/h] Dungeon Master has some contraints to fit within the LEGO Ideas parameters. Each room is an 8x8 stud, with lairs 16x16 -- square rooms, which makes them easy to store. Low walls are used to keep the brick count low as well as to enable players to see what's happening in the dungeon. The rooms are stackable and the doors open and close. Ymarilego addressed a few other points in the comments:
For a visual example of how the set might work, Ymarilego created a comic. You can also view the layout in the Lego Digital Designer tool.
[h=3]Now What?[/h] LEGO posted a generic congratulatory message upon reaching 10,000 supporters:
The next step begins in May and involves review by a LEGO Board consisting of designers, product managers, and other key team members. They decide if the potential LEGO product meets the company's standards of playability, safety, and fit with the LEGO brand. The review process takes months, and if the review team signs off, the project moves to the Development phase, which can take several more months.
[h=3]What It All Means[/h] Way back when we first discussed LEGO and D&D, I bemoaned the failure of the Biome Blox Kickstarter to reach its funding goal. If the success of Dungeon Master is any indication, there's more overlap between LEGO collectors and dungeon-crawling fans than ever before. We can only hope that LEGO agrees.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking tohttp://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
View attachment 81538
[h=3]Back into the Dungeon[/h] We previously discussed the possibilities of LEGOs being used as a miniature and terrain replacement in "Will LEGO Ever Replace Miniatures? " LEGO has flirted with the idea of a D&D-style game before, with its short-lived HEROICA series that mimicked dungeon-crawling. There are also D&D-branded LEGO-compatible figures, but nothing on the scale of a true D&D-style dungeon crawl...until Ymarilego proposed Dungeon Master. Dungeon Master is described as:
Three brave heroes await your story. No one knows what adventures they will have, no one know what dangers or monsters they will encounter on their journeys and quests. Are they on a treasure hunt? Are they on a quest to eliminate the evil bonelord or are they simply curious and want to unravel the mysteries of an abandoned keep. No one knows what lies hidden in the forgotten rooms. No one knows how far the cellars extend into the lower layers of the earth. No one knows, except YOU, Dungeon Master! With this set you can create your own dungeons and lairs for the heroes to investigate. There are dozens of possible layouts and setups. You can place the rooms in any sequence desired to create the lair you like.
The dungeon includes six minifigures along with three player character figures.
[h=3]Running the Gauntlet[/h] LEGO Ideas is a crowdsourcing tool to theoretically let the best ideas float to the top. It includes photos and 3D-renderings, along with a written proposal. The recommended pieces to build the set cannot be higher than 3,000, the maximum that fit into a single box.
Projects go through a series of challenges to be considered by LEGO. The goal is 10,000 supporters, but there are several challenges along the way. The project must reach 100 supporters within 60 days -- reaching that number gives the project an additional year to reach 1,000 supporters. After reaching 1,000 supporters, the project is granted six more months to reach 5,000 supporters. At the 5,000 supporter mark, the project has an additional six months to reach 10,000 suppoters. Assuming an Idea meets its deadlines, it has a year and two months to reach the review board.
To give you an idea of just how popular Dungeon Master is, it hit 1,000 supporters on January 25, 2017 and blew through its 10,000 supporter goal in under one month on February 16, 2017. In comparison, one of the featured LEGO Ideas (LEGO Mystery Science Theater 3000) has 6,844 supporters with 514 days to go.
[h=3]Dungeon Master, Your Guide to the World...[/h] Dungeon Master has some contraints to fit within the LEGO Ideas parameters. Each room is an 8x8 stud, with lairs 16x16 -- square rooms, which makes them easy to store. Low walls are used to keep the brick count low as well as to enable players to see what's happening in the dungeon. The rooms are stackable and the doors open and close. Ymarilego addressed a few other points in the comments:
Gender/race of the heroes: The three heroes were to represent me and my sons. Hence 2 male and one female (Jenn is female) No offense or anything intended. I have no problem with changing skin color/race on any of them though. Set size/price/expansions in different price categories would be nice: I had already started working on other sets when I posted Dungeon Master. Took those comments into consideration and created a smaller set that could be a nice addition. Please check out Dungeon Master, the mine. Licensing: personally I do not see why that would be required. The set is a general display that can be used for any rpg game or any self invented adventures. The name Dungeon Master may have been taken, I did not check. I used that name because I used to be a DM. Any other name like for example `Dungeon Builder` or something similar is fine as well. Licensing would increase the price as well, it may however open other options. I am sure the Lego business experts have more experience with it than I.
For a visual example of how the set might work, Ymarilego created a comic. You can also view the layout in the Lego Digital Designer tool.
[h=3]Now What?[/h] LEGO posted a generic congratulatory message upon reaching 10,000 supporters:
What just happened?! We're pinching ourselves to make sure it wasn't a dream, as your project spread like wild fire over the weekend seemingly backed up by all of the internet. In fact, the countless "Well, that escalated quickly" internet memes spring to mind for some reason. Your very well presented project forms the basis of an interesting role-playing based game through which players can express their creativity in different ways. From your comments we can see the neat touch of having yourself and your sons as the heroes of this journey. Well, you're already heroes to 10,000 supporters that's for sure! You can a foot off the gas pedal and relax as we're glad to now officially advance this project to the Review phase.
The next step begins in May and involves review by a LEGO Board consisting of designers, product managers, and other key team members. They decide if the potential LEGO product meets the company's standards of playability, safety, and fit with the LEGO brand. The review process takes months, and if the review team signs off, the project moves to the Development phase, which can take several more months.
[h=3]What It All Means[/h] Way back when we first discussed LEGO and D&D, I bemoaned the failure of the Biome Blox Kickstarter to reach its funding goal. If the success of Dungeon Master is any indication, there's more overlap between LEGO collectors and dungeon-crawling fans than ever before. We can only hope that LEGO agrees.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking tohttp://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
