Bedrockgames
I post in the voice of Christopher Walken
To be clear here I don't play 5th edition so I am not exactly invested in it. But if this is about 5E, my impression is not that they were picking a particular style but that they are trying to find the middle ground where they can bring as many of the fandoms to the fold without losing anyone after so many people left during 4E. That is a big challenge because D&D players are picky. So to me what 5E looks like is a game heavily inspired by Basic D&D, which I think was a gamble that can work because that openness got a lot of old school fans (didn't bring me back but I do know a lot of old school players who loved 5E) and brought in fresh blood because it is open, free and easy. That was one of the big strengths of that openness in basic.I'm just gonna pivot to another fandom of mine now that I'm done with chore and DM prep.
I am a fan of Pro Wrestling. Pro Wrestling has all types of wrestlers to root for.
A big issue in the wrestling community for a while was that the bookers of the 2 main companies were biased as heck. They only booked certain types of wrestlers to get TV time, good feuds, and wins. They booked their favorite styles of wrestlers. There were other wrestlers of the styles they didn't like but they didn't get focus or time.
- Alignment
- Babyfaces
- Tweeners
- Heels
- Type
- Giants
- Powerhouses
- Light Heayweights
- Technicians
- Striker
- Cruiserweights
- Freaks
- Card
- Main Eventers
- Midcarders
- Tag Specialists
- Jobbers
- Women
- Men
And that's basically what I see in D&D.
You want to see a powerhouse slam a guy who did them wrong and win the title but the booker wont get them a match over 5 minutes nor a title run over a month or so with the midcard belt.
I am not saying you are wrong here. Perhaps your preferred style isn't being catered to. But I don't think it is because designers are only seeing their own preference. I think they are looking at the fan base and trying to find the magical formula for bringing as many into the fold as possible