The Truth About 4th Edition.

[Mistwell]

3. Current as much as prospective D&D players typified as sociopaths who see nothing to be gained from the game when it isn't their turn? Check.

What on earth in that interview implies anyone is a sociopath?

 

[The_Gneech]

I don't see what there is in the interview to get hung up about; it's all pretty old news and dull news at that. Nowhere does anybody say anything close to calling people sociopaths.

-The Gneech

 

[Turtlejay]

I play 4e, and I did not like this interview one bit. I didn't exactly dislike it. . . .but none of the answers were much of anything useful or interesting, and I get the feeling a lot of it will be misquoted here and elsewhere to fuel crap about crap. . .

The only thing that I felt kept that from being a waste of five minutes was the bit about *possibly* putting other books in print on a POD basis. Vague, noncomittal, and probably nothing, but cool if something comes of it. We should all get to play what we want, supported from the source.

Jay

 

[Dannager]

I find it shameful that Andy stated that he wouldn't be able to understand how to play the game by reading the old Blue Book now.

I mean wow. Really?

I'm older now too, but I don't feel like I've lost my attention span, or somehow become less intelligent.

This isn't about losing your attention span or intelligence. This is about living in 2010, and having (to put it simply) a lot on your mind. Because of the very real and very rapid increase in the average amount of information we're now used to absorbing on a daily basis, we as a society have lost a lot of the patience we used to have for navigating hard-to-follow explanations. It's not that we can't; it simply has much less appeal, on average, than it used to.

 

[Drkfathr1]

This isn't about losing your attention span or intelligence. This is about living in 2010, and having (to put it simply) a lot on your mind. Because of the very real and very rapid increase in the average amount of information we're now used to absorbing on a daily basis, we as a society have lost a lot of the patience we used to have for navigating hard-to-follow explanations. It's not that we can't; it simply has much less appeal, on average, than it used to.

As a society, perhaps, but that's not a trend I'd want to support. Of course, I'm not trying to publish to the masses either!

I have plenty of distractions and hobbies in my life, but I prioritize. I don't have to do all of it in the same day. I can focus on one thing for quite a while. I suppose that's not typical of most.

Oh well, se la vie!

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

FYI, part 2 is online now.
The Escapist : The Truth About 4th Edition: Part Two of Our Exclusive Interview with Wizards of the Coast

 

[Hussar]

I think people take from the interview pretty much what they came with into the interview.

This is not going to change anyone's mind and people will readily spin things in any direction to "prove" their opinion.

Which is rather sad IMO.

 

[Coldwyn]

RE: Part2 and Paizo:

Interresting point to consider Paizo-customers to still be part of the D&D crowd. Combine this with "the long view" and you can have two intriguing results, pro and con:
- Should a 5th Edition come out and Paizo still exist, maybe customers will jump ship again.
- Should 4th Edition still exist when Paizo fails, maybe customers will jump ship again.

With this in mind, Paizo still is win for WotC.

 

[ruemere]

I believe there is nothing wrong with 4E being made to appeal to people with, according to quoted parts of interview, less refined palate [1].
The hobby needs introductory systems and adventures - elitism breeds ghetto (or niche) mentality and leads to stagnation.

4E, however, does seem to go a bit overboard with that approach (WotC adventures, certain underlying system design principles [2])... I have picked a few adventures (the free ones), read a few reviews of various supplements (always willing to cherry pick material) and found to my disappointment that they failed to offer value beyond straight and very system-specific stuff.

This interview presents my impressions as deliberate choices by designers. It's fine, really. It's just that each time I check latest releases for something which would make me add it to my collection, I get turned off.
To put it into perspective - DMG2, new Forgotten Realms. The former supposedly contained refreshing insights into art of bringing the adventuring to life, the latter was to produce less straitjacketing Realms [3].
And so I browsed DMG2, thought kindly about Stewart Wieck, and put it back on the shelf. And the Realms... These are not the Realms you're looking for - the old ones, for all their flaws, did not feel so generic.

I hope to keep on trying new books from time to time. The new adventure thread may yet herald new era for Wizard publishing... for now 4E books would not add any value to the collection I own [4].

Regards,
Ruemere



[1] Less refined palate = Less experienced, or possibly, preferring simpler forms of entertainment. ~ I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and trust that this isn't a deliberate slight to people who have different preferences to you, but don't do it again. Thanks: Admin ~

[2] I have read 4E books at the time I was considering switching to new edition and I have found it incompatible with my campaign style. Bias: nothing against system (I like it a bit, even - it's one of the neatest system on the market), strong dislike of subscription model (for DDI and books) and whole GSL angle (I happen to love 3rd party publishers).

[3] It's not like my time with Realms (as a player) was wasted, but meeting celebrities was too common for my taste. I do not mind chatting powerful folks up, I do mind when suddenly every goes haywire and these guys yet again, in the worst possible comic tradition, fail in order to let the spotlight show low-level characters. Oh, and Mystra(l) died way too many times.

[4] Obligatory Paizo mentions: China Mieville. Piratecat. Great Beyond (Shemeska).

 

[DaveMage]

It's still amazing to me that every time I read WotC commentary on 4E it solidifies my determination to go nowhere near 4E.

Thanks again, Ryan Dancey and Peter Adkison!