D&D 4E WotC and 4E Communication Feedback

[Mike_Lescault]

Sorry for not being around too much in the past few days, GenCon has been crazy. I finally made it back to Seattle (and in one piece at that) and I wanted to start a thread about our 4E communication.

If you have any ideas, concerns, complaints, etc about how we're distributing the information about 4E please post and let us know. We're definitely interested in any ideas people have on ways we can improve our communication with the community.

Thanks!
-Mike

 

[Glyfair]

Ideas?

I would like to see the GenCon blogs moved to a regular feature. Have the designers talk about their personal experiences with the 4E design. You could even tie it to the "article of the week." If this weeks article is about the new racial abilities, have some of the crew give their thoughts on their thoughts (the hows and the whys), their favorite racial ability, etc.

As for complaints about your GenCon communication, I'd say the only one was having your timer set to shut down the website

 

[Alnag]

Well, I wouldn't mind if all the GenCon Wizard's stuff would reveal their secrets now as Rodney did in his last blog. Otherwise I think the coverage was good! Hope you will reveal more soon

 

[Roman]

Overall, I think WotC has done a good job communicating about 4E. I would, of course, prefer to find out as much information as possible, but it is understandable that not everything can be revealed immediately.

I would, however, be interested in clarification of how playtesters for 4E are going to be chosen, as I like rules analysis almost as much as playing and am hence interested in signing up for that and having the chance to do both.

 

[Mike_Lescault]

I would like to see the GenCon blogs moved to a regular feature. Have the designers talk about their personal experiences with the 4E design. You could even tie it to the "article of the week." If this weeks article is about the new racial abilities, have some of the crew give their thoughts on their thoughts (the hows and the whys), their favorite racial ability, etc.

This is a good point and definitely the direction we're heading with both D&Di and Gleemax. We really want to focus on getting the designers out in front of the community and talking about their stuff, and GRZ video interviews and the designer blogs were our way of kicking that stuff off.

I would, however, be interested in clarification of how playtesters for 4E are going to be chosen, as I like rules analysis almost as much as playing and am hence interested in signing up for that and having the chance to do both.

We don't know the details yet, but I am going to shake the apple tree later this week and see if anything falls out. Basically, all we know right now is that you'll need to be a member of either the RPGA or D&Di to sign up for the change to be a beta tester. Beyond that, the details are still being worked out.

-Mike

 

[delericho]

I concur - with the exception of the Wizards.com server going down at just the wrong moment, the communications from Wizards regarding 4e have been handled very well.

 

[Roman]

GRZ video interviews and the designer blogs were our way of kicking that stuff off.

I also really liked the video interviews and the blogs - please do keep that up. I also think it was a smart move to place the videos on YouTube, thus avoiding bandwidth issues and so on.

We don't know the details yet, but I am going to shake the apple tree later this week and see if anything falls out. Basically, all we know right now is that you'll need to be a member of either the RPGA or D&Di to sign up for the change to be a beta tester. Beyond that, the details are still being worked out.

Ok, thanks for looking into it! As a member of the WotC boards, am I automatically a member of D&Di?

 

[Glyfair]

Oh yeah, and I think that we, as a community, would like to apologize for the "gamer" who felt the need to walk up to the WotC staff at GenCon and tell her (or them) to "die, die, die."

I'm sure you know they're the fringe that most of us don't even want to be associated with. Still, sometimes it's nice to be reminded.

 

[Maggan]

I think you handled it adequately. Of course the countdown gaffe will become a classic, and unfortunately ammo for critics of 4e and the DI.

What I also think you missed was to put two or three people in a room that was NOT at GenCon, logged on to EN World and RPG.net, and armed with a cheat sheet answering the most common questions that cropped up.

Also, I think that you should adopt the strategy of not discussing unannounced projects, and not confirm or deny anything regarding unannounced projects. Simply say "we don't comment on anything we haven't announced".

That's all for now.

/M

 

[Tharen the Damned]

Naturally I started to grumble as I read about 4th ed. All my 3x stuff now useless and all that.
But then I saw the presentation and read the articles and blogs. The energy, motivation and commitment of the WoC Staff just swept me away.
Consider me a convert for 4th edition (even if I am still not sure about the DI).