D&D General Not the Wicked Witch: Revisiting the Legacy of Lorraine Williams

[Count_Zero]

You really sound as if you thought the OGL was a bad thing...

The OGL itself was fine - and if TSR hadn't been so litigious it probably would still have come about. Two of the reasons for it to exist were making sure D&D could never die, and helping to encourage third party publishers to make the kind of content that didn't necessarily make a lot of money, like adventures, additional monster books, NPC books, and so on.

The problem is the third was pure damage control - show an olive branch that we won't sue you for writing for our game the way the old management did. If it wasn't for things like the 92 (not 84) Mayfair Games lawsuit, I think while people would have still been antsy about the change to the GSL from the OGL, there wouldn't have been the same level of revolt. Everyone would have still been upset at the attempt to pull the OGL, and we likely would have still gotten the ORC, but you might not have had Paizo basically going "They're going to come for us like they came for GDW, start stripping the remaining D&D stuff out of Pathfinder 2e!"

 

[LordEntrails]

She was the CEO and responsible for the culture she wanted to create going forward and could’ve changed it.

Agree with Snarf here, the CEO can't always change a company culture. Even a company of 100 people. At least not without destroying the company to do so.

I know this because I've been hired to change company cultures. It doesn't always work.

 

[Staffan]

Finally, they never pivoted to take into account the sudden rise of crack ... Magic: The Gathering.

They tried, but much like the rest of the gaming business they drew the wrong conclusions.

When Magic hit big, a lot of companies went "This CCG thing seems like a license to print money, let's do that", and usually tried using existing IP to rapidly push a game out. Steve Jackson Games turned Illuminati into Illuminati New World Order, White Wolf made the Vampire-themed Jyhad (which I believe is still going, though I think they changed the name) and possibly a Werewolf-themed one as well, Atlas Games turned Over The Edge into On The Edge, and so on. TSR tried to get in on that craze with not one, but two CCGs: Spellfire and Blood War (and Dragon Dice was an attempt to chase the same collector thing). Problem is that the main value in a CCG lies in having people to play with, and even if you personally think INWO is a better game than Magic, that won't help you if no-one else in town agrees.

I'm not really sure what the proper business response would have been. Maybe just recognizing that these guys are kicking your butt and taking your lunch money, so maybe you should stop trying to produce a dozen books a month when the kids are spending all their money on cardboard crack.

 

[LordEntrails]

B) In a closely-held company it's really not a big deal in the first place.

It's not only common in closely held companies. Think JFK appointing RFK as significant a historical example.

I also think that the possibility that Buck Rogers might do well was not as far-fetched at that time as it seems now. It was in heavy syndication on TV in the 1980s.

Had I known the game existed (Buck Rogers RPG) I would have bought it. We devoured just about every RPG we could get our hands on in the 80's (Star Frontiers, Gang Busters, Top Secret, Tunnels and Trolls, RuneQuest, ElfQuest...)

 

[Hussar]

Dragon Duce was successful,

Best Typo Ever.

 

[Theory of Games]

Snarf Zagyg has a hard-on for Williams. Look at how they champion the PoG in this thread and THIS thread and THIS thread and who knows how many more. There's definitely a pattern of Gygax-bashing disguised as "yall know I luv Gary as much as yall, but Lorraine was the REAL genius".

If she was such a blessing to the hobby why do so many people who worked for TSR like Frank Mentzer and Mike Breault describe her as trash?

So I'm so curious: what's the agenda here, Snarf?

 

[The Soloist]

I have no sympathy for both of them.

Seeing many former rpg players spending all their money on mtg was a sad sight to behold, from my point of view. We really enjoyed Dragon Dice while it lasted. The magic item expansion killed the game, unbalanced it. The game still exists today. It was bought by SFR inc. They are using kickstarter very well to reprint and expand the game: SFR Inc.

I wasn’t surprised when TSR went bankrupt and I was happy it was saved by WoTC.

 

[TiQuinn]

Snarf Zagyg has a hard-on for Williams. Look at how they champion the PoG in this thread and THIS thread and THIS thread and who knows how many more. There's definitely a pattern of Gygax-bashing disguised as "yall know I luv Gary as much as yall, but Lorraine was the REAL genius".

If she was such a blessing to the hobby why do so many people who worked for TSR like Frank Mentzer and Mike Breault describe her as trash?

So I'm so curious: what's the agenda here, Snarf?

Sure, I guess that’s one version of what anyone’s been saying in this thread…if you squint real hard, and maybe turn your head sideways?

 

[Hussar]

PoG

? Not familiar with this acronym.

 

[MGibster]

? Not familiar with this acronym.

Person other than grunt. A derogatory term used in the American military to describe a member of the armed forces whose MOS is not combat arms.