D&D General Todd Kenreck Let Go from WotC

[Steampunkette]

I won't be surprised if you turn out to be right. However, I will be frustrated and disappointed because AI just ain't there yet (and may never be)! It's mostly smoke and mirrors at this point, but so many people have been hoodwinked by the tech bros.

I mean...

1) Large Language Models will never get there, and really that's all we're looking at. But they -are- good at generating piles of to-format content which is what most D&D writing is. "Make a CR 15 Monster based on the monster art you just created from my prompts." and BAM. Instant new monster 'cause the template is easy enough to fill out.

2) It'll solve Hasbro's biggest problem when it comes to money leaving the pockets of executives: Wages.

'Cause that's the ultimate bottom-line issue for them. If they can avoid paying wages they can keep that money, too.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I mean...

1) Large Language Models will never get there, and really that's all we're looking at. But they -are- good at generating piles of to-format content which is what most D&D writing is. "Make a CR 15 Monster based on the monster art you just created from my prompts." and BAM. Instant new monster 'cause the template is easy enough to fill out.

2) It'll solve Hasbro's biggest problem when it comes to money leaving the pockets of executives: Wages.

'Cause that's the ultimate bottom-line issue for them. If they can avoid paying wages they can keep that money, too.

And if they do that, I think they’ll find that the industry fans largely despises that, and they’ll lose more than they save. But yeah…they’ll probably try.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

So, are they going to go back to the designers reading a script indirectly into the camera format?

 

[BruceWright]

1) Large Language Models will never get there, and really that's all we're looking at. But they -are- good at generating piles of to-format content which is what most D&D writing is. "Make a CR 15 Monster based on the monster art you just created from my prompts." and BAM. Instant new monster 'cause the template is easy enough to fill out.

Why would I pay Wizards for something I could get directly from a chatbot?


Indeed a more advanced chatbot, more modern, run by more powerful parts of the tech industry than... HASBRO.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I won't be surprised if you turn out to be right. However, I will be frustrated and disappointed because AI just ain't there yet (and may never be)! It's mostly smoke and mirrors at this point, but so many people have been hoodwinked by the tech bros.

If you're going to be hoodwinked by tech bros, the Seattle area is one of the places you're most at risk for it.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Could we be seeing the preparation for a considerable course change?

My current guess is the bean counters decided that licensing has much better bang-per-buck and so are cutting as much from trpg support as they can to focus on more profitable stuff.

 

[BruceWright]

If you're going to be hoodwinked by tech bros, the Seattle area is one of the places you're most at risk for it.

Okay but how’s the hoodwink working in Pawtucket, Rhode Island?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Okay but how’s the hoodwink working in Pawtucket, Rhode Island?

In Rhode Island, you have to stay away from anywhere that local politicians gather in numbers less than a quorum.

 

[mamba]

Why would I pay Wizards for something I could get directly from a chatbot?

because WotC won’t tell you that it is AI, I also expect that AI is only some baseline a designer then refines rather than going straight into the product, because only WotC’s AI can be trained on 50 years of D&D data

 

[Sacrosanct]

The game industry generally (when including videogames) often goes through periods after a big release where they cut stuff way down and go into a maintenance phase.

No one is shocked at, say, Blizzard, when a bunch of people leave after Diablo IV comes out and they only keep a smaller crew on hand to maintain the live service component and work on expansions.

Yeah, this is the #1 reason I've never applied for any position within WotC or another game company. Probably one of the most tenuous job markets out there, and extremely cyclical.