MCDM monster book “Flee Mortals!” KS is live!

[darjr]

I think I’m learning better why Matt reacts with increasing upset over his being asked about PF. There is no possible answer to satisfy and not lead to nit picking psychoanalysis of motives, intentions, and truth telling.

When he started getting flooded with people talking about foundry was not a fun time. Many got down right rude and very pushy. The lifetime twitch ban hammer fell on many a folk then.

I think the foundry folks had to reach out to him personally.

At least with the PF talk it’s been mostly good natured folks honestly asking, mostly.

I dint recall many questioning his very lively hood anyway.

He’s good at what he does, the live streaming to hundreds of folks.

 

[darjr]

 

[overgeeked]

I'd pop refer they play Diplomacy, because tension should be edible

Damn. I wanna watch the Matts play Diplomacy now. Oh...

Too bad Colville's guest DM stint on Critical Role fell through. That would have been epic.

 

[overgeeked]

When he was just making youtube videos in his spare time it didn't seem weird to me that he only really talked about 5e and some aspects of earlier editions. But as he has become head of a game company and now talks so much more about design, it's weird that he's not at least aware if not curious as to what is going on in the rest of the space. That's also true of the OSR; I think in a video he attributed the phrase "rulings not rules" to 4e of all things. Recently he seems to have been using his channel to spotlight other games by bringing other people in to talk about them, which is nice.

But his company only produces content for 5E. Why would he need to talk about Pathfinder, the OSR, Fate, Numenara, Call of Cthulhu...or any other game?

 

[Malmuria]

But his company only produces content for 5E. Why would he need to talk about Pathfinder, the OSR, Fate, Numenara, Call of Cthulhu...or any other game?

The "ruling not rules" thing is just a matter of doing your homework and citing your sources. In terms of talking about pathfinder or other games, he can do whatever he wants, but I guess I just assumed that game designers were as curious as players about various systems and what's generally going on in the industry.

 

[overgeeked]

The "ruling not rules" thing is just a matter of doing your homework and citing your sources.

Sure, because that’s a thing non-academics worry about.

In terms of talking about pathfinder or other games, he can do whatever he wants, but I guess I just assumed that game designers were as curious as players about various systems and what's generally going on in the industry.

First, exactly so. Now consider that a huge amount of D&D fans don’t care about anything that’s not 100% officially WotC 5E. A subset of fans actually engage with non-WotC content. And the vast majority of 5E fans simply don’t care about or are literally unaware that non-D&D RPGs even exist. So “as curious as players” means heaps and heaps of designers simply won’t care about or likely won’t be aware of non-D&D stuff.

Second, you have to take the person into account. Matt Colville was a tabletop game designer for other games and systems for years, switched to writing and designing video games for years, but kept playing D&D. He started a “how to run D&D” YouTube channel because he has a lot of relevant experience as a DM, as an RPG designer, as a novel writer, as a player of a wide range of games, and as a video game writer/designer. His channel blew up and he started MCDM to bring his knowledge and skills to 5E designs. His company and brand is 5E focused. Whether he’s curious about other stuff or not doesn’t enter into it. He’s doing his thing and is successful with it. If it’s working, why change it?

 

[Malmuria]

So, to be clear, I have this observation about Colville's videos because I've watched a lot of them, and I've watched a lot of them because I find them interesting and entertaining overall. His work and success has been a positive contribution to the hobby. =

First, exactly so. Now consider that a huge amount of D&D fans don’t care about anything that’s not 100% officially WotC 5E. A subset of fans actually engage with non-WotC content. And the vast majority of 5E fans simply don’t care about or are literally unaware that non-D&D RPGs even exist.

This is a good point, and maybe what I'm really reacting to in some of his videos, i.e. that his content is geared towards an audience that firmly within the 5e sphere of gaming, with MC providing the perspective of what value earlier editions/adventures might have for 5e players, whether that's 4e-style design or classic 1e and 2e adventures (hommlet, night below, etc). But his audience might generally not be interested in hearing about non-dnd games, with just a few exceptions.

 

[Retreater]

I guess I'm getting burned out on Kickstarters - and perhaps gaming in general - but this is his first KS that I'm not backing. I'm not playing much 5e these days anyway.

 

[darjr]

I guess I'm getting burned out on Kickstarters - and perhaps gaming in general - but this is his first KS that I'm not backing. I'm not playing much 5e these days anyway.

Totally valid. There is a lot of demand for our time and money.

 

[Mannahnin]

I guess I'm getting burned out on Kickstarters - and perhaps gaming in general - but this is his first KS that I'm not backing. I'm not playing much 5e these days anyway.

Yeah, valid. For my part, I wasn't particularly interested in the first two, but I'm strongly considering this one. It's more likely to be of use to me.