WotC is going online. What do you want the digital initiative to be?

[Nightfall]

CB,

Hey that's their choice.

Hussar,

Don't forget the milk! It's not as good without milk. Especially with Oreos man.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm quite surprised that a good number of posters have said they would pay 50% more for online-only material than what an annual subscription to Dungeon most recently cost.

Are they all asking for something comparable to Dungeon, though? It wasn't the kind of magazine I needed, personally. I'd rather have an idea factory than lots of prefab adventures that may or may not suit my tastes and interests. I prefer a la carte for that.

 

[Nightfall]

Whiz,

Ala carte? So what you want a flam bay Alaskan?

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Indeed, Nightfall. I recognize the trend that is apparently forming and likely has been forming for a few years--print moving to digital. I don't think print will ever go completely away but I do see a larger digital thumbprint in the world, so to speak. Personally, I really am genuinely surprised to hear that folks will pay what they've said they'll pay for online content. Would I pay that? Nope. If it's something you all would like and think you can benefit from, though, I hope Wizards delivers.

Getting back to the point of this thread, if it's a digital medium then (in order of preference) I want:

1. Site security
2. Site accessibility 24 hours a day without glitches
3. Full digital integration. Can I load it onto my iPod so I can play D&D at the park with the other stay-at-home moms I know? Tabletop gaming in the palm of my hand, baby. Dice rolling, adventures, campaign setting information, spells, character sheets, the works.
4. WotC to contract with some of the artists and writers who've worked for Paizo over the last six years.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Are they all asking for something comparable to Dungeon, though? It wasn't the kind of magazine I needed, personally. I'd rather have an idea factory than lots of prefab adventures that may or may not suit my tastes and interests. I prefer a la carte for that.

I agree, an a la carte menu would be wonderful.

 

[Nightfall]

CB,

See I'm not against paying for it, I'm against paying MORE for it or the same price, especially since WotC's PDFs don't alway seem worth it, especially at full price.

So you want a Baked and Flam-bayed Alaskan too?

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I'm quite surprised that a good number of posters have said they would pay 50% more for online-only material than what an annual subscription to Dungeon most recently cost.

My guess is that those people are looking at it as paying for a) Dungeon, b) Dragon, c) Virtual Tabletop, d) Character Generator, e) existing Wizards web content such as web enhancements (if they went to the pay side) and f) probably searchable everything. Say 2.5 magazines worth of content for the price of 1.5. Also, for some of us (raises hand) digital/.pdf format is much, much more convenient for actual use at the gaming table.

1. Site security
2. Site accessibility 24 hours a day without glitches
3. Full digital integration. Can I load it onto my iPod so I can play D&D at the park with the other stay-at-home moms I know? Tabletop gaming in the palm of my hand, baby. Dice rolling, adventures, campaign setting information, spells, character sheets, the works.
4. WotC to contract with some of the artists and writers who've worked for Paizo over the last six years.

1. What do you mean by site security? That they won't lose your credit card number/paypal account to identity thieves? If so, yeah, that's definitely a bare minimum requirement. Shouldn't be too hard to meet; hundreds of sites have reliable security for subscription services.
2. Agreed, although 24/7/365 is, generally speaking, a pipe dream. Not being down more than once in six months and not for more than six hours - that's very achievable.
3. Now this would be AWESOME. I don't have an iPod or palm, but if they introduced this feature, I would seriously look into picking one up on the cheap.
4. No worries on this count. Actually, I'm looking forward to seeing how Wizards handles the submission process; Matt Sernett was a hyper-efficient editor when he was at Dragon, and I'm hoping he'll get tapped for this role for DragOnline. They'll be inheriting Paizo's slush pile, for a start. Also, I'm going to keep calling Wizards online initiative 'DragOnline' until proven wrong.

 

[Nightfall]

Moogle,

Mind if I call it "Wizard's way of making money angels only...not?"

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I want there to be a possibility that out-of-print settings could get some representation.

Everything better damn well be platform agnostic.

Other than that, I don't have much to ask for other than quality.

 

[Nightfall]

Eric,

I hear that. *chuckles at the phrase: platform agnostic* Now there's something you don't hear very often.