Monte Cook on target audience of RPG Supplements

[Mercule]

As the "new guy" here at the WotC offices, I can tell you that I'm gaming more now than I ever did back home. I'm playing in two D&D campaigns (one run by Christopher Perkins, and one run by mearls that periodically devolves into nonsensical ramblings about pop culture) and running two Star Wars games. In fact, it seems like WotC is the land of Too Many Games, Not Enough Nights. I had to make my Star Wars games into 2-hour lunchtime games just so people could play, because it seems like every night there are several D&D games going on. Not to mention the fact that I've already been invited to a couple of games run by Paizo employees, and some of them come down to the offices to play as well...just not enough time in the day!

That is great to hear. You have just bolstered my faith in the gaming world.

Not that I had far to go, since I declared last fall that I had more books than I could ever use and you guys keep churning out stuff I can't refuse.

 

[LostSoul]

I'm playing in two D&D campaigns (one run by Christopher Perkins, and one run by mearls that periodically devolves into nonsensical ramblings about pop culture) and running two Star Wars games.

Do you have any actual play posted online somewhere? I'd like to read that, especially how the new Saga rules influenced your play (and how the play influenced the rules). Assuming that you were playing Saga, that is.

 

[Rothe]

My attitude for a long time has been that "computer games are to paper RPGs" as "movies are to theatre".

The former are bigger, more popular, more expensive to create, easier to reproduce and deliver the experience to a mass audience. The latter came first, inspired the former, are more of a unique live-experience, and have a more passionate following. Professionals in the former are frequently themselves the biggest advocates of the latter (movie actors frequently say they prefer Broadway; all the computer game companies I worked at had regular RPG game sessions).

In other words, they didn't "take over" so much as just massively outgrow, like other similar entertainment industries.

I can second that. I understood "take over" as the next big thing in games, RPGs fading to more of niche status like happened to wargames. In that computers will take over the market.

 

[Psion]

There's one GREAT game designer I know that doesn't play much (not "not ever", as he's played at my table... I'll let him identify himself if he wanders by and feels the need).

I think in his particular case, he seems to have a bit of perspective that a lot of designers don't. But that's pretty rare, and I think it's an exception that proves the rule. He also isn't, I think, perfect, because while I find his perspective strengthens his design style in some ways, in other ways I find it a bit wanting and I compensate for it in house rules here and there.

 

[Pramas]

In my experience the number of designers who stop gaming is pretty small. I can only think of one company that actually copped an attitude about it and they went out of business years ago (surprise surprise). This is a profession you get into because you are passionate about games. If you stop liking games, there are way better ways to make a living.

 

[RodneyThompson]

Do you have any actual play posted online somewhere? I'd like to read that, especially how the new Saga rules influenced your play (and how the play influenced the rules). Assuming that you were playing Saga, that is.

Mmm...I don't, sorry. They're internal playtests for the upcoming Dawn of Defiance campaign, and I don't want to spoil anything.

 

[Monte At Home]

He is not saying that needing these accessories makes one NOT a good DM, but that good DMs are more likely to be able to work without such accessories. By targeting the "average" DM, they aren't saying, "This product makes you average," just that the typical "average" quality DM is more likely to need a product than a "good" quality DM.

Thanks. That's exactly it.

Oh, and so industry people can stop feeling put on the defensive, the article being quoted is talking about the industry climate of the early to mid 1990s, not today, or even the last five or ten years. Most of the people I am obliquely referring to don't even work on games any longer. The point is actually that that time period was likely the low point for the game industry as a whole, on many levels.

 

[mearls]

Mmm...I don't, sorry. They're internal playtests for the upcoming Dawn of Defiance campaign, and I don't want to spoil anything.

I can personally assure you that, due to my diligent efforts as a playtester, effemminate Duros fops will be fully supported by the campaign.

You have my pledge!

 

[Olaf the Stout]

In my experience the number of designers who stop gaming is pretty small. I can only think of one company that actually copped an attitude about it and they went out of business years ago (surprise surprise). This is a profession you get into because you are passionate about games. If you stop liking games, there are way better ways to make a living.

Fast Forward Entertainment by any chance?

Olaf the Stout

 

[Glyfair]

In my experience the number of designers who stop gaming is pretty small.

While Monte points out that this was the state in the early 90's, I wonder if there wasn't a smaller version of that during the d20 boom.

At least one infamous game designer used to rant about how horrible d20 was as a system, yet released a d20 adventure (to prove how much better he was at writing even a d20 module than anyone else). Quite a few products didn't seem to have any playtesting either, especially a few conversions from other system products or dual system products.

Perhaps some of these were playing games, but not playing d20 while writing d20 (because that's what sold).