Veander said:
I agree with you on some accounts, but I can't agree that WotC doesn't understand their Internet medium. The breadth of information on their site could carry a DM through an entire campaign. I love WotC's free stuff and while maybe it isn't ordered well on the site, it's there and wasn't before with TSR (in any way).
When TSR was still using D&D the internet was new and hardly used by businesses. Plus, TSR was having financial issues as Ryan Dancey discovered (and details in his account of valuing the company before WOTC bought them). As for WOTC's website, again, it is difficult to use and counter intuitive in many places. Certain features have technical issues from time to time. Previous computer support and online tools is hit and miss, with very poor showing in the software (i.e. master tools which became e-tools).
I am not attacking WOTC, I respect their staff and the work they do. I think alot of good things come out of the company. I just feel there is times they have tunnel vision and their design can become inbreed. I think they try to hard to make the next cool gaming product, but they don't fully understand the whole gaming industry. Their weakest point is miniature games and how they work. I am not saying they should make a miniature wargame, but they don't natural understand the lessons that a game designer learns when you really are on top of wargames, like Warhammer.
The strongest element within Wizards of the Coast's design teams is Magic the Gathering, and as far as I understand it is completely seperate from the rest of the company. The DCI support, the design cycle each year of IP, game mechanics, and story/ card text. The development of more and more balanced game play through future league and the better understanding of the color wheel. If you read the articles at magic's website, the work Mark Rosewater and crew are doing is amazing. It is progressive game design. They still make mistakes from time to time of course, but how they support and handle the game is a near science. D&D is not developed to that point yet, they are trying however but it is being handled as game mechanics to much, the fluff side of D&D and how to use it well is being left out.
If any of you saw Rackham's website when it was fully interactive, had music and animation, you will understand what elements are missing from a website for D&D.
