The Moral of the Story Is....Maybe there's such a thing as (D&D being) too big

[Umbran]

Yes, having the 800 lb gorilla has resulted in more people being up ship's creek without a paddle due to the potential removal of the OGL... but the only reason they are in the creek in the first place was because paddling in it was so easy and worked so well for so long.

Yep. It is kind of easy to focus on the current negatives, and discount the past couple of decades of positives.

 

[Umbran]

And yet you couldn't help yourself from injecting it into the conversation.

Let it drop, please. Thanks much.

 

[MNblockhead]

I find it strange to talk about D&D being too big given the small size of the hobby as a whole compared to other forms of entertainment. Personally, I think D&D is still just getting started and I'm more upset that WotC created this unnecessary distraction just as they were poised to break into the mainstream again in a much better environment for growing the hobby than the 1980s.

This is not a dig against smaller publishers and less popular games. Some of my favorite games make other systems look huge. I mean, Dialect or InSPECTres anybody? I can continue to enjoy TTRPGs in my little circle regardless how popular it is. Buy it was exciting to see what looks like a good movie come out, a TV series in the works, Balder's Gate III is exactly what I've been looking for in CRPG, and I've really enjoyed 5e and am have been liking what I seen of One D&D. I'm even guardedly excited about their VTT plans.

Then they had to crap all over it. Sigh.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Yep. It is kind of easy to focus on the current negatives, and discount the past couple of decades of positives.

And the thing is... I do not in any way blame people for thinking that their time in the creek could continue indefinitely. There were few reasons at all to think that this whole thing would blow up like it did (the same way YouTubers have little reason to think their jobs on YT are potentially at risk.) So to find it happening is indeed shocking as all get out, and I'm sure panic has set in for a lot of people. And I do not envy their positions nor discount their feelings. I just personally can't match the anger that other people have for the situation because I'm not in it and never really wanted to be.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Then they had to crap all over it. Sigh.

Well... better for them to crap on it now while they were still 18+ months away from their 50th Anniversary celebration than to do it in the middle of it. That still gives everyone time to digest the fallout and see where everyone's attitudes are about the whole thing when GenCon '24 probably has a big ta-do about the 50th and the new books are released.

 

[Vaalingrade]

(the same way YouTubers have little reason to think their jobs on YT are potentially at risk.)

Susan makes sure they are harshly reminded every month or so.

To the point that it's stunning the Nebula is the only successful break away.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Susan makes sure they are harshly reminded every month or so.

To the point that it's stunning the Nebula is the only successful break away.

Don't know who this Susan is you are referring to... but I am a Nebula subscriber myself as a number of YouTube folks are on it that I subscribe to (Wendover Productions, Lindsay Ellis, Legal Eagle) and I appreciate their content.

If only Corridor Digital was on Nebula too rather than their own company video service, I'd be a happier camper.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Don't know who this Susan is you are referring to...

YouTube S&P head, IIRC. The face of all the stupid rules and changes that roll out at random and blindside creators in the name of advertisers, none of who want to advertise to adults according to YouTube.

 

[DEFCON 1]

YouTube S&P head, IIRC. The face of all the stupid rules and changes that roll out at random and blindside creators in the name of advertisers, none of who want to advertise to adults according to YouTube.

Gotcha. Yup, makes sense.

 

[MGibster]

Folks almost seem to be talking as if, if D&D were not so dominant, we clearly would have hit some utopia of gaming, or something. That's... not really a well-supported conclusion. That fact that we are currently living through some stuff that seems sub-optimal does imply that another path would certainly have been superior.

While I do think having one game/company be synonymous with an entire hobby isn't great, I would have to agree with you. I would go a bit further to say that the last twenty years or so have been pretty good for gaming as a whole. There are a lot of good games, really, really niche games, that probably wouldn't have ever saw the light of day back in 1998 but can find an audience today.