D&D 5E Why Forums Should Be Ignored By Game Developers

[AaronOfBarbaria]

...Facebook and Twitter where they disappear into the aether almost as fast as they can utter them.

I'm fairly certain that there is no more "disappearing into the aether" on Facebook and Twitter than there is on a forum.

There is even a fan site which keeps track of relevant Twitter posts just to make it easier for someone looking to reference them to do so (but the referencing could be done just by scrolling back on a feed, or an appropriately phrased Google search).

 

[Storyteller Hero]

I feel that a distinction needs to be made between the corporate executives at WotC and the actual designers employed by WotC.

Since the designers are themselves likely to be avid gamers, it might be safe to assume that at least some of them drop by forums from time to time to read what people are saying about their work.

The business people in charge of the company are not as likely to be the same.

The marketing department does have to conduct research so apart from surveys, social media analysis (including reading what's on FB or forums) could be part of the job.

 

[Aldarc]

RPG forums represent a disproportionate population of gamers. If forum gamers are a vocal minority, they can also be an influential one that can impact how the game is played even amongst casual gamers. How? Forum readers. We live in the era of the video game guide. Have a problem of how to play? Look it up online. Read it in a class guide. Or watch the solution or some tips and tricks on YouTube. Options you want not available? Look for some online (DMsGuild, homebrew tumblr, etc.).

I have encountered players and GMs who I know do not post on forums discuss with me things they have read online regarding D&D and other tabletop RPGs. Here's a homebrew they found. Here's some advice they read. Here's some options they are not permitting because they read how it can break the game. (I've also had the surreal experience of some of these people, who don't know I post here, talk to me about threads in which I have participated. )

It just takes one person who reads the gaming discussions online to influence the table, whether they are GM or player. This impacts play experience.

 

[Iry]

The biggest difference I have noticed is...

Players who pay attention to forums seem to be more aware of design trends in gaming, and have been exposed to a wider variety of playstyles.

Players who never come to forums, or read much about D&D, are less likely to have been exposed to a variety of different playstyles. They tend to have friends who play a certain way and that's what they stick with.

Is having experience with a larger variety of playstyles better? Not necessarily. But as a quality of life issue, I would rather my players have experienced several playstyles so they know what they like best, than to keep going with the same thing because they have never experienced anything different.

This is a sweeping generalization of course.

 

[Henry]

I've been saying the same thing as the subject line for years. The average forum poster at ENWorl in my opinion has a lot more investment in the "meta" aspects of gaming (the "inside football" information, game mechanics, house ruling stuff) than the average user who just visits WotC's site or their Twitter and Fecbook feeds. As a result, our opinions will be skewed somewhat differently. I see the same thing in other communities (Linux users especially!)

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

RPG forums represent a disproportionate population of gamers. If forum gamers are a vocal minority, they can also be an influential one that can impact how the game is played even amongst casual gamers. How? Forum readers. We live in the era of the video game guide. Have a problem of how to play? Look it up online. Read it in a class guide. Or watch the solution or some tips and tricks on YouTube. Options you want not available? Look for some online (DMsGuild, homebrew tumblr, etc.).

I have encountered players and GMs who I know do not post on forums discuss with me things they have read online regarding D&D and other tabletop RPGs. Here's a homebrew they found. Here's some advice they read. Here's some options they are not permitting because they read how it can break the game. (I've also had the surreal experience of some of these people, who don't know I post here, talk to me about threads in which I have participated. )

It just takes one person who reads the gaming discussions online to influence the table, whether they are GM or player. This impacts play experience.

That's the largest part of the reason why when I see someone on a forum posting their own table experience overstated in a fashion that suggests it is a universal truth of how to play the game being discussed, I chime in with a "that's not the only way to do it" comment so that, theoretically at least, any reader coming to figure something out has a better chance of satisfying result to that attempt.

 

[dco]

The forum is only a tool that helps communication with unknown people, unless this forum is composed of members of a roleplaying sect who play strangely you'll only see different opinions and experiences.
The game developers can read what they want, I don't care if the read a forum, talk with their wife or philosophize in a hole, I only care about a quality product. About your example, in my opinion to assume a number of battles is bad design, hopefully designers will reach someday the same conclusion.

 

[Zardnaar]

If WotC gave a flying fig about what forumites had to say, they would not have shut down their own forums.

They also would not limit their online contributions to outlets like Facebook and Twitter where they disappear into the aether almost as fast as they can utter them.

One of the ex mods on another site explained it. The WoTC forums had several issues.

1. Gleemax
2.4Es release
3. Edition War

At the height you could post something and 1-2 hours later it would be off the footprint page and they had multiple sub sections that were actually used (Races, classes,, FR, FR monsters, FR novels, min max section etc). Threads would hit 1000 postrs fairly frequently including some in the smaller forums such as "The War" (Elves vs Dwarves 2001) in the race section.

They were crazy busy. They bleed members with Gleemax and 4E and the forums never really recovered. When you saw the same names migrate enmasse to Paizo, Dragonsfoot and ENworld.

 

[corwyn77]

I'm fairly certain that there is no more "disappearing into the aether" on Facebook and Twitter than there is on a forum.

There is even a fan site which keeps track of relevant Twitter posts just to make it easier for someone looking to reference them to do so (but the referencing could be done just by scrolling back on a feed, or an appropriately phrased Google search).

So yeah, that would get you to a specific tweet about your topic. As far as i know, there is no way to go from there to all the tweets related to that one (as in responding to or leading up to that tweet). I find that pretty useless. If I go here, or the gurps forum or Green Ronin, I can search for, read, and respond to threads that are 15 or more years old and all the related posts are right there. Good luck with that on Twitter.

Can you give me a link to the above fan archive? I've looked at the official twitter search engine and it is useless to me for the above reasons.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

So yeah, that would get you to a specific tweet about your topic. As far as i know, there is no way to go from there to all the tweets related to that one (as in responding to or leading up to that tweet). I find that pretty useless.

I just typed "magic missile site:twitter.com" into Google and hit search, clicked the first link, and was taken not to an individual tweet, but the whole post/response thread in which that tweet was made.

Can you give me a link to the above fan archive?

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