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<blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 7768533" data-attributes="member: 5142">Is this some sort of &quot;Gotcha Game&quot;? If&nbsp; [MENTION=177]Umbran[/MENTION] has somehow failed, perhaps it would be helpful to discussion if you at least let this conversation &quot;Fail Forward&quot; through actually introducing the discursive complication that has resulted from his &quot;failure&quot; rather than let it dangle? That's the thing. Critical Role is a cultivated media experience associated with a private company. It wants the capital of your time as you sit through advertisements, listen to their podcasts, buy their merchandise, attend events, follow their tweets (and those of their associated actors), and boost their personal brand. It is the digital D&amp;Dification of Soap Operas. It seems as authentic to the amateur D&amp;D hobby experience as WWE is to Olympic wrestling, though I'm sure that some would challenge that on some level, as the analogy is imperfect. Returning to the original discussion point, I'm not sure if the OP's distinction about what constitutes Old School vs. New School game design is helpful, especially given the scarce absence of defining relevant terms. I am sure that a meaningful distinction likely exists between the game styles, but it would perhaps be helpful to examine approaches beyond the scope of D&amp;D itself. Though I would also pause to consider whether the change in approaches within D&amp;D itself also stems from D&amp;D's own success as the market leader? It succeeds because it is the easy mode and low access point? Though many tabletop gamers would likely loathe the comparison, especially given the accusations lobbed against 4e, but perhaps New School D&amp;D is the way that it is because it follows a similar trend as World of Warcraft (and many other Blizzard games): it has created a &quot;n00b friendly&quot; version of the game. The new approach to D&amp;D design and play stems, whether conscientiously or not, from a desire for its market accessibility. WoW, for example, was more forgiving than its predecessors when it came to death mechanics. WoW developed into a more linear with quests and themepark-oriented style of play in development because they sought to assist and cultivate the new player experience.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Aldarc, post: 7768533, member: 5142"] Is this some sort of "Gotcha Game"? If [MENTION=177]Umbran[/MENTION] has somehow failed, perhaps it would be helpful to discussion if you at least let this conversation "Fail Forward" through actually introducing the discursive complication that has resulted from his "failure" rather than let it dangle? That's the thing. Critical Role is a cultivated media experience associated with a private company. It wants the capital of your time as you sit through advertisements, listen to their podcasts, buy their merchandise, attend events, follow their tweets (and those of their associated actors), and boost their personal brand. It is the digital D&Dification of Soap Operas. It seems as authentic to the amateur D&D hobby experience as WWE is to Olympic wrestling, though I'm sure that some would challenge that on some level, as the analogy is imperfect. Returning to the original discussion point, I'm not sure if the OP's distinction about what constitutes Old School vs. New School game design is helpful, especially given the scarce absence of defining relevant terms. I am sure that a meaningful distinction likely exists between the game styles, but it would perhaps be helpful to examine approaches beyond the scope of D&D itself. Though I would also pause to consider whether the change in approaches within D&D itself also stems from D&D's own success as the market leader? It succeeds because it is the easy mode and low access point? Though many tabletop gamers would likely loathe the comparison, especially given the accusations lobbed against 4e, but perhaps New School D&D is the way that it is because it follows a similar trend as World of Warcraft (and many other Blizzard games): it has created a "n00b friendly" version of the game. The new approach to D&D design and play stems, whether conscientiously or not, from a desire for its market accessibility. WoW, for example, was more forgiving than its predecessors when it came to death mechanics. WoW developed into a more linear with quests and themepark-oriented style of play in development because they sought to assist and cultivate the new player experience. [/QUOTE]

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