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<blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 4827269" data-attributes="member: 1106">It appears that WOTC disagrees.&nbsp; From what they've said, they seem to be weighing D&amp;D and it's settings in the balance with regard to current &quot;relevance&quot; (to pop culture?) and in updating it to be part of &quot;contemporary fantasy&quot;.&nbsp; Or maybe I'm reading too much into those comments.Beyond broad statements like &quot;zombies are out, vampires are back in&quot;, I wonder what's being used to judge the zeitgeist?&nbsp; If you look at MMORPGs, movies, anime, novels and such collectively, is there really anything usable to be gained by reading these pop culture entrails?&nbsp; Are publishing houses and movie studios subscribed to research into what should work right now?&nbsp; Probably.&nbsp; Who knows their hit rate.Is D&amp;D really a white elephant, consigned to the dustbin of history unless it becomes a mirror of current popular culture, or is it going to be another Transformers or Star Trek, where themes that worked once will work again?&nbsp; Maybe if it keeps updating to remain &quot;relevant&quot; we'll never find out, because the compromises made to become &quot;contemporary fantasy&quot; will have compromised D&amp;D's original appeal to an extent that it loses that original appeal entirely.&nbsp; I hope not.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="rounser, post: 4827269, member: 1106"] It appears that WOTC disagrees. From what they've said, they seem to be weighing D&D and it's settings in the balance with regard to current "relevance" (to pop culture?) and in updating it to be part of "contemporary fantasy". Or maybe I'm reading too much into those comments. Beyond broad statements like "zombies are out, vampires are back in", I wonder what's being used to judge the zeitgeist? If you look at MMORPGs, movies, anime, novels and such collectively, is there really anything usable to be gained by reading these pop culture entrails? Are publishing houses and movie studios subscribed to research into what should work right now? Probably. Who knows their hit rate. Is D&D really a white elephant, consigned to the dustbin of history unless it becomes a mirror of current popular culture, or is it going to be another Transformers or Star Trek, where themes that worked once will work again? Maybe if it keeps updating to remain "relevant" we'll never find out, because the compromises made to become "contemporary fantasy" will have compromised D&D's original appeal to an extent that it loses that original appeal entirely. I hope not. [/QUOTE]

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