Libramarian
Adventurer
Here is my report navigating the WotC D&D website, as if I were new to RPGs.
I Google Dungeons & Dragons and click the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page.
I accidentally click the enormous D&D GameDay image. Don't know what that is.
I back out and click New to D&D.
I click What is D&D.
I click take me to the RPG Hub. A ton of confusing information. Reacting to the Reaction? What the hell does that mean. +5 Crossword of Slaying? Dungeons & Dragons Insider Tools?
I concentrate on the Featured RPG Products header. I click on See More Products. I am now in a huge list of 499 things.
I click on Core Products. This takes to me to the original 4e books. 8 products are in here. I click on the DMG. Finally I am told that this is one of 3 core books. I surmise that the core books are the PHB, MM and DMG, 832 pages, $105.
But wait, there are more options on the first page. I don't know how to get back there so I just Google D&D again.
I click New to D&D.
I click What to Buy. This gives me the Red Box Starter Set and the Essentials line.
I click on Learn to Play. 2 more clicks gives me the free quickstart rules and a couple of free adventures.
I go back to What to Buy and click on the Red Box Starter Set. This takes me to a different website talking about the Starter Set, but it won't tell me how much it costs. I back out and click on Essentials. This gives me two columns for Player and DM Essentials. It's not clear that this is it so I click on Product Catalog and am back to the 499 item list. I back out.
Assuming this list is "the essentials", we've got 8 items, 1632 pages, $163.
So now I can buy the 3 core books. I can buy the Starter Set. I can buy the Essentials books. I can download the quickstart rules and Keep on the Shadowfell. There is no further guidance from the site about what to do.
Number of clicks: 20
My response:
This
is unacceptable. I still don't know how to get started.
The D&D website is laid out like a supermarket where they put the deli at the back, so you have to walk through the entire store to get to it, while they play music that has been shown in psychological studies to reduce walking speed.
There are too many products, they don't explain what the differences are, they're too expensive, and they're huge books. The Essentials line (what I would probably buy, given the poor reviews on Amazon for the 4e core books and the red box starter set), is longer than War and Peace. LONGER THAN WAR AND PEACE.
The first page should explain what D&D is and how to get started right now. There should be one entry product. If you have multiple products, you need to EXPLAIN the relationship between them!
I Google Dungeons & Dragons and click the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page.
I accidentally click the enormous D&D GameDay image. Don't know what that is.
I back out and click New to D&D.
I click What is D&D.
I click take me to the RPG Hub. A ton of confusing information. Reacting to the Reaction? What the hell does that mean. +5 Crossword of Slaying? Dungeons & Dragons Insider Tools?
I concentrate on the Featured RPG Products header. I click on See More Products. I am now in a huge list of 499 things.
I click on Core Products. This takes to me to the original 4e books. 8 products are in here. I click on the DMG. Finally I am told that this is one of 3 core books. I surmise that the core books are the PHB, MM and DMG, 832 pages, $105.
But wait, there are more options on the first page. I don't know how to get back there so I just Google D&D again.
I click New to D&D.
I click What to Buy. This gives me the Red Box Starter Set and the Essentials line.
I click on Learn to Play. 2 more clicks gives me the free quickstart rules and a couple of free adventures.
I go back to What to Buy and click on the Red Box Starter Set. This takes me to a different website talking about the Starter Set, but it won't tell me how much it costs. I back out and click on Essentials. This gives me two columns for Player and DM Essentials. It's not clear that this is it so I click on Product Catalog and am back to the 499 item list. I back out.
Assuming this list is "the essentials", we've got 8 items, 1632 pages, $163.
So now I can buy the 3 core books. I can buy the Starter Set. I can buy the Essentials books. I can download the quickstart rules and Keep on the Shadowfell. There is no further guidance from the site about what to do.
Number of clicks: 20
My response:
This
is unacceptable. I still don't know how to get started.The D&D website is laid out like a supermarket where they put the deli at the back, so you have to walk through the entire store to get to it, while they play music that has been shown in psychological studies to reduce walking speed.
There are too many products, they don't explain what the differences are, they're too expensive, and they're huge books. The Essentials line (what I would probably buy, given the poor reviews on Amazon for the 4e core books and the red box starter set), is longer than War and Peace. LONGER THAN WAR AND PEACE.
The first page should explain what D&D is and how to get started right now. There should be one entry product. If you have multiple products, you need to EXPLAIN the relationship between them!
