What is THE NEXT BIG THING?

[Bert the Ogre]

As I logged onto the ENWorld website, I was greeted by a doom and gloom snippet from Ryan Dancey's blog, and it got me to thinking. Yes, I know, dangerous territory, so I'll pause for a brief moment while everyone shrugs into a set of body armor.

Everybody ready? OK.

What IS the "Next Big Thing" in our hobby? Any clues? It seems that D&D and tabletop RPGs are about to die every ten years or so, only to be saved by something from outside. The last time D&D almost died, it was saved WoTC and their new ideas from their Collectable Card Game, and the huge pile o' cash that came with it.

As I peruse the shelves of my FLGS, I see that much of what has been done in 1st Ed and 2nd Ed. is being done again in 3.x Ed. I'm reading and preping for a "Savage Tides" adventure path, and see that that particular adventure is dipping deeply into 1st. Ed, and the nostalgia of players and DMs who come from that era, as well as younger players with visions of being Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom. But one adventure path isn't enough to "save the day."

Dragon Dice almost doomed TSR, Magic: The Gathering pretty much saved it. World of Warcraft seems to be the BIGGEST THING EVER in our hobby (and oddly enough, I haven't even loaded up my free fifteen day trial), and MMORG crossovers and RTS games seems to be the new growth market for tabletop games. Will those games be enough to draw in players and pump new life into the game the way "Nerd Poker" was able to?

So, any ideas? Anything you've seen out there that might be "The Next Big Thing?" Minis that can do more than fight like advanced chess pieces? Games that attract the fairer sex to the table? Or someone with a big ol' wad of cash, and new ideas? Hasbro SEEMS to have stayed out of the way, a rare thing in the world of corporate ownership, lettng the game designers and writers actually write and design games, while Hasbro cuts checks to finance the projects.

And on a similar note, since 4th Ed. is going to happen anyways, are there any ideas you'd like to see incorporated? Start with the very VERY basics of D&D, the 6 stat blocks, a fistful of dice, and go from there. EVERYTHING else is optional. Feats/No Feats. Skills/No Skills. Saving Throws based on ??? Kits? GURPS style Advantages/Disadvantages/Quirks? New ways of "powering" magic users? Iconic classes and characters, or something totally new?

And should there be a 4th Ed. OGL? Was "Open Source" a success, or a drain on company coffers?

I hope I've been able to stimulate some ideas, without creating a flame board. I've played this game since the Eric Holmes boxed set, but never to the obsessive/compulsive level some people have. I don't love or hate any edition, and don't consider making money to be "evil." I DO think that some things need to be killed and restarted, with The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and D&D all fair game.

A Pheonix dies and rises anew from it's ashes. So has D&D. Thoughts?

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Thoughts?

cross marketing/ cross use products

The World of Warcraft card game that can potentially get you neat stuff in the MMORPG as an example.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

Well, I for one an still waiting for D&D whatever edition to start making use of the Internet in an organized way. We've got computer games on one side, and paper books on the other, and they really do not meet in the middle at all.

Not sure what I am looking for, but I know there has to be something out there.

 

[Nightfall]

The next big thing in 4th edition...

ME!

 

[delericho]

I think in some ways we've already seen the 'next big thing' that's saved D&D for another decade, in the form of the D&D Miniatures. My guess is that as long as Wizards continues to make enough money to saisfy Hasbro, the non-interference will continue, and the game will proceed apace. Which is quite nice.

As far as D&D moving forward, I can see one or three things happening:

1) Move towards the mainstream. Create a version of the game (or at least a game) that can be played similarly to a traditional boardgame - vastly simplified rules, a de-emphasis of campaign play, and shortened game times (4 hours max... probably closer to 1 hour for greatest effect). This would mean an end to the supplement treadmill, though, so probably won't become the model for RPGs, but might continue to be a useful gateway.

Note that in some ways DDM covers this ground already, but they might try to merge or expand that game with some light role-playing aspects to try to cross-market.

2) A move towards an always-available electronic community so that you can find a game anywhere at any time, coupled with some really powerful software to run games across the net. This won't ever compete with WoW, and nor should it. It won't even really tap into the WoW player base either. What it will do, though, is allow people who are finding it hard to get a group together to continue playing. As the D&D fanbase ages, and the pressures of life lead to an inevitable attrition, this might become more and more important.

3) A possible shift away from DMs creating their own adventures, NPCs and monsters, and towards using what we're given. This has already started somewhat, but it remains to be seen how far Wizards take it.

---

On reflection, one product I would like to see from Wizards would be a big boxed set of no-prep adventures - adventures that can be run by the DM without having pre-read them. The box should contain about 20 such adventures, plus pre-printed terrain cards for the various dungeon rooms set out in the adventures. There should also be a booklet (set of sheets) with plenty of pre-gen characters suitable for use with the adventures.

The adventures should be short enough to play through in a single evening. Additionally, there is no need for character advancement rules in the box.

The idea here is that it is a product for use on those occasions when part of the group has cancelled, and you still want to game, or you want to introduce new players to the game in the best manner possible - by running them through an adventure.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Well, I for one an still waiting for D&D whatever edition to start making use of the Internet in an organized way. We've got computer games on one side, and paper books on the other, and they really do not meet in the middle at all.

Not sure what I am looking for, but I know there has to be something out there.

There's a couple of PnP computer interfaces that you can use to host a game over the internet.

I personally found them clunky, but not as clunky as getting four 35 year old men in the same room at the same time.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I don't really need to be saved by the corporations anymore. We've got our games down pat, without meddling from the five one eyed giants. And we are having tons of fun. For sure, a lot of my gaming buddies are now online but there are enough of us who won't go there to sustain our three weekly games (of which I participate in two).

But the question is intriguing. What could they possibly come up with? I don't think a mainstream D&D would work. I can hardly get my mainstream wife to play a game of Carcassonne, much less have her become interested in role-playing. She's got TV, music and telephones, instead.

Miniatures are nice and I read and dream about them. But in my heart I know it's just dreams. I hardly ever game with the ones I've already got, so why should I get more?

I can't find players for card games and wizclicks and even if I did I don't know if I could keep the interest up for long. D&D and RPGs is my lifestyle but cards and clicks is merely a passing interest.

I don't buy into licenesed products. To me a license is just money spent on a name that could have been used for design and production. I never got a kick out of pretending to be a famous character/cartoon, I much rather create and pretend to be my own.

I do like adventures and four color battle maps, though. I love those.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

cross marketing/ cross use products

The World of Warcraft card game that can potentially get you neat stuff in the MMORPG as an example.

Prior to that, the Everquest RPG had hints about new quests in the punishingly user-unfriendly quest system in the MMORPG.

I think this sort of crossover is a natural; frankly, I'm surprised that the FFG Warcraft board games don't include MMORPG goodies, too.

The official World of Warcraft site promotes the RPG in its store, which is all to the good, IMO. I play on an RP server in WoW, and I run into more people who have played a traditional roleplaying game than haven't, even among the non-RPing population of Silver Hand.

 

[Bert the Ogre]

I think in some ways we've already seen the 'next big thing' that's saved D&D for another decade, in the form of the D&D Miniatures. My guess is that as long as Wizards continues to make enough money to saisfy Hasbro, the non-interference will continue, and the game will proceed apace. Which is quite nice.

As far as D&D moving forward, I can see one or three things happening:

1) Move towards the mainstream. Create a version of the game (or at least a game) that can be played similarly to a traditional boardgame - vastly simplified rules, a de-emphasis of campaign play, and shortened game times...

2) A move towards an always-available electronic community so that you can find a game anywhere at any time, coupled with some really powerful software to run games across the net...

3) A possible shift away from DMs creating their own adventures, NPCs and monsters, and towards using what we're given. This has already started somewhat, but it remains to be seen how far Wizards take it.

---

On reflection, one product I would like to see from Wizards would be a big boxed set of no-prep adventures - adventures that can be run by the DM without having pre-read them. The box should contain about 20 such adventures, plus pre-printed terrain cards for the various dungeon rooms set out in the adventures. There should also be a booklet (set of sheets) with plenty of pre-gen characters suitable for use with the adventures.

The adventures should be short enough to play through in a single evening. Additionally, there is no need for character advancement rules in the box.

Some good ideas here, but not necessarily "The Next Big Thing." I came into D&D during the Eric Holmes boxed set, and not long after TSR did one attempt to make D&D "Mainstream," with the Tom Moldvay/David Cook Boxed sets. Not that the game itself was mainstream, but the advertising copy was. Dad, Jr. and Sis as players, Mom as DM. Dice, pizza, sodas on the table, but no minis. Although game took off during that time, it never quite fit the "Family Game Night" game concept.

There are D&D type board games, but so far they are $70+ games. A bit of a hard sell to non-serious gamers. Magic: The Gathering had a tasty $6.95 sales tag for a basic deck, and $2.95 for the card packs. Sure MTG could get quite expensive, if you wanted it to, but it could also stay quite cheap, and could be played in just a few minutes to less than 30 minutes. Great for school kids with s short lunch period. (Please don't quote me on prices, I'm just going for a general feel.)

I myself would like to see a "Basic Set" that is similar in scope to the Moldvay/Cook sets, but with the minis and other odds and ends from the 3.x Basic Sets. The new Basic Set has too few monsters, spells, and other fluffy goodness that the M/C sets had. Nor did the "Orange Box." The 3.x Basic Sets are essentially "Demo Versions" of the big book sets, while M/C was a truly stand-alone product, with portability to the full set of rules and material.

Maybe that's "The Next Big Thing." D&D simple enough for Family Game Night, but with expandability to full nerdiness!

 

[Shadowslayer]

I personally found them clunky, but not as clunky as getting four 35 year old men in the same room at the same time.

Amen! (I feel your pain, brother.)

If they can fix that problem...that'll be "the next big thing"