What games do Wizards designers play?

[Vrecknidj]

I have never played WoW. I play the RPG, and that's fine because it's basically D&D. And, since I don't play the online version, everything that happens in the RPG game I play in is all new to me.

I'm not surprised by its prevalence among the designers. But, I fear that it will have too much bias in their creation and alteration of D&D's future.

Dave

 

[hexgrid]

I'm not surprised by its prevalence among the designers. But, I fear that it will have too much bias in their creation and alteration of D&D's future.

Remember that Gleemax isn't a D&D specific site, and D&D is just a part of what WoTC produces. So the responses as a whole don't necessarily mean anything about D&D at all.

 

[TarionzCousin]

In the "Silly facts" thread, Jon Tweet notes that he taught Elijah Wood to play D&D.

Guess what race Elijah played?

Um, elf?

 

[Melan]

Cool that Jonathan Tweet's D&D game is set in Tekumel

And it would be even cooler if he were running it with the original EPT rules!

But still way too cool, and this quote demonstrates he also "gets it":

Naturally, I give Tekumel a cynical twist.

As everyone should!

 

[Minicol]

Look at how many of them are actually D&D designers. Wizards designs quite a range of games... and playing *good* games is recommended when you're a designer.

Cheers!

hello Merric,

"good" is a bit debatable here. I have not tried Wow, but I have tried DDO, Vanguard, Dark Age of Camelot and Guild Wars.

I have given up on all of them. Sure they have cool graphics (well except Wow), interesting backgrounds, and stuff...

BUT, they have all a big defect : they are REPETITIVE. All the missions are the same.
You have 3 varieties :
Go there and kill everything
Go there, fetch the Mcduffin and bring it back
Go there and loot the place

And don't get me started on the roleplaying. Sure you can meet an adventuring group in two minutes.... but half of them are mute, the other half acts dumb and gets you killed, and the third half doesn't want to play with you because you are too high in level or whatever...

In short, they are not a good experience as a whole, and are nowhere near to match the fun you can have with our beloved D&D.

 

[James Jacobs]

BUT, they have all a big defect : they are REPETITIVE. All the missions are the same.

And that's why I'm pretty sure WoW isn't going to kill D&D. D&D and other pen/paper RPGs. And that's from someone who very much enjoys playing WoW. In fact, I wouldn't call the repetititve thnig a defect at all, any more than I would call football or any other sporting event repetitive. WoW (and the other MMORPGs) scratch a different itch than D&D. They're not about discovering new things or advancing plots or role-playing as much as they are more like sporting events. Sure, the dungeon's the same every time, but so's the football field. It's not as much about the exploring the dungeon (or the football field) as much as it is the act of pitting yourself against the other team (or the various monsters that dwell in the dungeon).

Same genre, different itch.

 

[Jhaelen]

And don't get me started on the roleplaying.

That's my main gripe about mmorpg: the typical player couldn't roleplay if her life depended on it. I've had a MUCH better roleplaying experience in text-only MUDs.

 

[diaglo]

And it would be even cooler if he were running it with the original EPT rules!

But still way too cool, and this quote demonstrates he also "gets it":

As everyone should!

quoted for truth.

but i use Tekumel in OD&D so i'm biased.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

And only one mentioned D&D online...occasionally.

Understandable. I love D&D but it's a lousy system for an MMORPG. We can talk about the lack of roleplay or emphasis on loot or boring missions or whatever. Personally, I play WoW using Ventrilo for voice chat and it's great to be able to log in and be able to find a few guild memebers (who I don't know outside the game) and go on a quest for an hour or two. But D&D as an online game? No way. And I tried it with Neverwinter Nights with my buddies. D&D is just not that great for computers and if you want to start a new thread about it, I'd be happy to bore everyone to tears on the subject.

Anyway, I'm glad they play MMORPGs of any stripe. The issues of balance and quest design are applicable to any RPG, CRPG, or MMORPG. And the more ideas people come up with for cool quests, the better.

 

[mearls]

FWIW, I'm on the design team and I pretty much find WoW as fun and interesting as banging my head against a brick wall.