Wil Wheaton Drops Dungeon Column

[ColonelHardisson]

But I never understood the point of having someone write a column in a gaming magazine that really isn't a gamer.

I mean, does having a bit part on Star Trek qualify him to write about D&D? Maybe he played as a kid, but if he doesn't on a regular basis, then why have a column?

I spoke to him at a book signing. Believe me, he's a gamer. He enthusiastically told me about a d20 campaign he was going to be playing in, and pretty much revealed he'd been playing RPGs for years. So he had a year or so when he wasn't running a campaign. Happens to all of us. Doesn't make any of us less of a gamer.

Why is he qualified to write a gaming column? He's an articulate writer.

 

[wingsandsword]

Hey, just because you ended up on the losing side of the Polyhedron debate doesn't mean you should sling barbs.

There wasn't a debate there, that implies there was any kind of dialogue. There was just a lot of people shouting that they didn't want anything other than D&D in any magazine, not even other d20 games, and a lot of bile spewed about Polyhedron being a total waste, they slung plenty of barbs on their own. Polyhedron supporters bought the magazine because they wanted it, and said they liked it. The Poly haters got loud, angry and condescending, and the squeaky wheel got the grease, and we got the shaft.

I see the same attitude that has brought down Wil Save as being the same attitude as wrecked Polyhedron, and pretty much wrecked Dragon: A large faction of readers who don't want anything other than a monthly packet of "Official" new feats/spells/prestige classes and plenty of glossy hype about the newest WotC D&D books. In 2000, the preeminent magazine of the roleplaying industry, focusing on D&D, became just D&D and quality began a downward slide. Years later I can go back to a Dragon from a decade or two ago, pick it up and read a fine article on the art of DM'ing, a bit about how to adapt a historic period or fantasy novel into D&D, or some intelligent discussion. When you pick up a Dragon from the 2000 to present era 10 or 20 years from now, will it still intrique you, or will it be just a collection of then-outdated rules and tie-in hype to the book of the month?

 

[Simplicity]

That's too bad... I actually really enjoyed his columns.
Sure, there's probably a little too much about him teaching his stepson the Gamer Way.
Sure, there probably could be more columns about D&D itself.
But the column was still entertaining.
For some reason, its one of the first things I flip to in Dungeon, just because it's good writing and its spoken from the heart.

 

[Simplicity]

Been through the wringers on the Polyhedron subject with them stuck-up snobs. And all this time, I thought elitists only live in high school campuses and college Greek houses.

Just because you disagree with others about what constitutes good content for Dungeon doesn't make them elitist. If you thought people with strong emotions on random subjects only existed in high school campuses and Greek houses, then you need to spend more time on the Internet...

 

[James Heard]

To be fair to everyone that apparently led to Mr. Wheaton's decision, he doesn't seem like he's happy with much right now and going through a revision process in general. That's something that I understand completely as a creative person myself, and it might not be that the feedback was inordinately vile enough to get him to cuss up a storm and toss the column out the window but the timing of the criticism. Like other people have said, he's an articulate writer and he's a gamer. It's not like he's said he's dropping the hobby or going to go on a Jack Chick anti-D&D rampage. He just sounds like he's realigning his life and revising his creative/professional priorities.

Personally I'm glad he dropped it, not because I didn't like it but because it would suck if he was just doing it so he could afford to keep up with WOTC's product release schedule in spending money. Hey, I'm still waiting for Stand By Me II: First Blood. It could happen, right?

 

[DonTadow]

I'm really going to miss his article. It was the reason I subscribed. I can' get adventures anywhere for a lot cheaper and more geared towards my campaign. All of the advice I've seen in there I've seen for free at roleplayer tips. But his column brought, what i thought, an aura of sophisitication to the magazine. I loved relating to a guy who grew up, still games and has a pretty decent life. It really irked me in there to here these guys diss the article because it didn't have a d20 stat in it. It was just really annoying. IF a magazine can't have one good editorial article in their (and I could care less about the age of worm path) then it's not at a level that I would care to waste 40 bucks on a year.

 

[vulcan_idic]

I'm really going to miss this it was one of the real bright spots in the magazine. Maybe we could start a letter writing campaign? Save Wil Save...

What sort of save do you suppose we'd need to roll?

 

[vulcan_idic]

My former jest being just that, having read his blog seeing what he has to say, Mr. Wheaton certainly needs to do what's best for him. I have really enjoyed all he has had to share with us while he's been doing his column. I can certainly also understand where he's coming from with negative responses... I'm nobody, but I know it really gets on my nerves when people annoy me with things and just don't let them drop. I understand his position and just want to let him know that I hope whatever comes his way in the future is great.

 

[LeapingShark]

The articles were good, I enjoyed them and I can identify with alot of what he wrote. I remember laughing out loud at couple of things that sounded just like what happened while gaming with my friends too.

But I am still happy that the space is now available for something else. My feeling is that the Internet is loaded with enough blogs, message boards, and fan websites stuffed with the kinds of anecdotal reading entertainment that you might find in the monthly Wil Save column. There's enough of that kind of entertainment freely available to keep you reading for hours on end, every single day for the rest of your life. Just pick your favorite forum and read threads at enworld!

But there is no other place on earth where you can go every single month and find 3 new top quality adventures often written by big names in the business and always accessorized with full color maps and pictures all going for a measly cost of $8. So I think every additional page availalbe that can be devoted towards the adventures, is a huge benefit.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I know it doesn't appear to be a popular opinion here, but I do think that a magazine whose theme is "adventures and DM material for D&D 3.5 edition" should mostly include that. I would likely buy a magazine that was about general gaming information and tidbits. Well, on second thought, I probably wouldn't. Normally I can read this sort of thing on the internet for free. I'm guessing Wil's blog is as or more entertaining than his article.

I have no problem with Wil, despite being a Star Trek fan. I liked him on the show even. I liked his column. I did find a couple of them to give me the impression of "Look at me, I'm a star and I once played D&D. I don't like D&D enough to make time to play it even once a month, but I did play Magic last year."

I understand being busy, perhaps even busy enough not to have time to play. That's fine, and that's the way the priorities work in his life. Still, I think it's more appropriate to have a column written by someone who is more associately with the theme of the magazine: game designers, etc.

I wouldn't have minded keeping his column in. But choosing between the column and more adventures? I choose more adventures or longer ones.