D&D 4E Video Review of the 4E D&D Website

[Chibbell]

Review of the new D&D site

I've always been impressed with Wizard's print products. They only seem to be getting better as time goes along. I was particularly impressed with Races and Classes and Worlds and Monsters. They seem to have finally gotten over their desire to put headlines at the bottom of a page.

I have never been impressed with their online offerings. And now that everything is online I feel that someone needed to tell them just how far short their website falls.

I spent most of the evening making a video about the site. This is purely from the eyes of a designer but it slays my inner child every time I try to read Dungeon or Dragon articles.

I don't think I can embed a video here but you can see it at Dragon Ave: Review of the new D&D site

 

[Frostmarrow]

Very nice. Even though the layout is lousy Wizard's website does feature a lot of content.

And the troll? Yeah, the troll is more than it seems...

 

[Wepwawet]

I don't watch videos with people speaking about ... stuff. Reading is much better and you get all the words. Especially since I'm at work
So yeah... I didn't watch the video

The website has a lot of content and the new layout design is nice, but the usability really sucks.
It's so hard to find whatever info you're looking for! It could be a lot more intuitive...

 

[hossrex]

The guy was overly negative about the DnD website, like he was looking for reasons to hate it, but he's right that it just isn't as "cool" as the WoW website.

Content issues aside... the DnD website should be every bit as cool as the WoW website.

 

[My Lego]

Just wanted to say that you are 100% right on this. Right now their site looks like someone with a hobby site got way to much money just to make something readable. What they need isn't so much better web programmers as someone who knows basic design.

 

[The Eternal GM]

For all that the D&D site could do with whole swathes of improvement, that guy killed his own argument by coming across like a tool. His points might be valid, but he's not funny, he's just a geek... And after that video he just seems a sad geek who is riding high on a 'I pointed out the failings of others' moment. A victory only he acknowledges.

Nit-picking the border line-up of unlinked and unrelated parts of the site does not make you clever. Sorry.

 

[Frostmarrow]

For all that the D&D site could do with whole swathes of improvement, that guy killed his own argument by coming across like a tool. His points might be valid, but he's not funny, he's just a geek... And after that video he just seems a sad geek who is riding high on a 'I pointed out the failings of others' moment. A victory only he acknowledges.

Nit-picking the border line-up of unlinked and unrelated parts of the site does not make you clever. Sorry.

The review might not be for everybody. As a webdesigner myself I learned some things from the review. If he'd bothered to make a review about my site I'd be all over it fixing marginals and typos. I'd be happy to. Also I thought the zooming about on the screen was pretty neat. Not as easy as it looks. Reviewing is 50% about pointing out the failures of others.

 

[Chowder]

The basic point is valid, though. The D&D website doesn't draw you in. If you're not already a fan of D&D, the website won't turn you into one. The WoW website is much better in this regard.

This is an important flaw. When WotC starts advertising 4E, people who see the ads will come to the website, and they will be bored. They will then give up on the game. If, however, WotC were to improve the website, they would be much more successful in turning some of those people into D&D customers.

WotC: you have a second-class website. This is hurting you. Please upgrade.

-Chowder

 

[Darkwolf71]

WotCs site is bad. That's a fact, but this video was ironically so not-engaging I didn't finish watching it. Boring.

Oh, and not to nit-pick, but D&D and WoW do not 'stem from the same roots' D&D IS WoW's roots.

 

[vagabundo]

I don't think their site is bad. However I do have to turn of my minimum font size in firefox to view it.