The most insidious part of this for me is the language of "our fans". Who does WOTC consider to be "their fans"? Throughout all my time playing D&D, I've never thought of myself as a "fan" of D&D, and especially not as a "fan" of WOTC. I've been a "player" of D&D, I've been a "DM" running D&D, now I consider myself a game designer using the framework of D&D. None of that is being a "fan" of D&D though, and that's what concerns me about the future of D&D. I've noticed over the last 4 or 5 years, ever since the lockdowns really, that there's been a change in the attitude of new D&D players, they're now much more like that "fan", the person who buys licensed merchandise irrelevant to the gameplay experience. WOTC seem to be trying to create more of those people, abandoning the traditional non-"fan" players in the process.
First, I'd love to see some of your game designs. I used to buy new RPGs, not to play, but to read. RPGs are a genre to me, like a new fantasy novel. Second, the lockdown messed up many of us in ways that will take more time to correct. It's like we finally saw through the illusion of the fire on the wall within Plato's cave, found the exit and walked towards it, but someone blocked the exit with a boulder. We're social creatures, often giving more merit to other peoples' opinions and not our own. The "fan" mentality is a natural consequence of wanting to belong to a larger whole. We don't have all the answers, want things to be simple, and we don't want to be wrong. This is how our biases form, why FOMO is so powerful to some, and removed our focus from our own goals, desires, and ambitions. When I experience something that shocks me or enrages me, that's when I know I need to take a minute to stop and think. I need to take the time to assess whether it's a true belief for me, or if I'm emulating someone else's belief that was built from fear. Gaming allows my imagination to run wild, has made me more aware of my own biases, and has led to some amazing growth. Thanks for the comment.
The greatest thing D&D has done for me over the last 10 years: It's the reason that I've gone out and played other games. I've found no shortage of other options out there, the only challenge is finding people that are willing to come of the WotC tiddy, because they're completely unaware that D&D isn't the only fantasy role-playing game. As it stands now, D&D is going to be a lifestyle brand. It'll be like Betty Boop- it'll just be some logo slapped on products at Wal-Mart. Hopefully this Stranger Things and Critical Role trend will die off soon, and Hasbro can do whatever they please with D&D while actual players will adapt and overcome- and innovate. As for the 'digitization'? Yeah, kiss the inside of my ass, WotC. Half the reason I stayed sane through my various deployments in the military was because we had pencils, paper, and some physical D&D books.
Thanks for your service and your comment. My best friend Brannan (who I mention in one of my videos) was deployed twice. He enlisted right out of high school and never loked back. He had a strong will, body, and heart. He survived his deployments and returned home safely. But several years ago at Chirstmas time, he had a stroke. We played D&D as kids whenever we could. D&D has changed my life in many ways as a social game of imagination. It's changed many lives for the better. Keep playing your way and it'll never go away.
@@dnd-and-philosophy "The military is full of nerds." - Me, but I doubt I'm the first one to say it. Call me a grognard if you like, but in fairness- I like having digital resources to a degree, but I don't like the idea of having to put down money just to access content to a game over the internet. My brother in Christ, if you've never done a 'Camping Campaign' you are missing out. As in, "You and the crew go camping over the course of like a week and play a tabletop RPG innawoods".
I personally don't see a problem with moving D&D to the digital realm. They could even import OD&D, BD&D, AD&D 1 & 2, D&D 3 & 4 into the D&D Beyond atmosphere and dominate other VTT's with little comparable effort on their part. Digital gaming has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people and play a game I never thought I could have, with my son across the world! I certainly don't think the direction they are maneuvering D&D '24 into is healthy or profitable in the long term, but it does open a possibility of bring in older edition fans into the digital realm, extending the longevity of the digital tools and profit margin. I just don't have any hopes that they are smart enough to do so.
WOTC is entirely focused on creating a walled garden ecosystem here, there is absolutely zero chance they'll import old versions when they barely even acknowledge the existence of those versions, and they're unhappy about the fact a lot of people rejected their repackaging of 5e.
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The most insidious part of this for me is the language of "our fans". Who does WOTC consider to be "their fans"? Throughout all my time playing D&D, I've never thought of myself as a "fan" of D&D, and especially not as a "fan" of WOTC. I've been a "player" of D&D, I've been a "DM" running D&D, now I consider myself a game designer using the framework of D&D. None of that is being a "fan" of D&D though, and that's what concerns me about the future of D&D. I've noticed over the last 4 or 5 years, ever since the lockdowns really, that there's been a change in the attitude of new D&D players, they're now much more like that "fan", the person who buys licensed merchandise irrelevant to the gameplay experience. WOTC seem to be trying to create more of those people, abandoning the traditional non-"fan" players in the process.
First, I'd love to see some of your game designs. I used to buy new RPGs, not to play, but to read. RPGs are a genre to me, like a new fantasy novel. Second, the lockdown messed up many of us in ways that will take more time to correct. It's like we finally saw through the illusion of the fire on the wall within Plato's cave, found the exit and walked towards it, but someone blocked the exit with a boulder. We're social creatures, often giving more merit to other peoples' opinions and not our own. The "fan" mentality is a natural consequence of wanting to belong to a larger whole. We don't have all the answers, want things to be simple, and we don't want to be wrong. This is how our biases form, why FOMO is so powerful to some, and removed our focus from our own goals, desires, and ambitions. When I experience something that shocks me or enrages me, that's when I know I need to take a minute to stop and think. I need to take the time to assess whether it's a true belief for me, or if I'm emulating someone else's belief that was built from fear. Gaming allows my imagination to run wild, has made me more aware of my own biases, and has led to some amazing growth. Thanks for the comment.
The greatest thing D&D has done for me over the last 10 years:
It's the reason that I've gone out and played other games. I've found no shortage of other options out there, the only challenge is finding people that are willing to come of the WotC tiddy, because they're completely unaware that D&D isn't the only fantasy role-playing game.
As it stands now, D&D is going to be a lifestyle brand. It'll be like Betty Boop- it'll just be some logo slapped on products at Wal-Mart.
Hopefully this Stranger Things and Critical Role trend will die off soon, and Hasbro can do whatever they please with D&D while actual players will adapt and overcome- and innovate.
As for the 'digitization'? Yeah, kiss the inside of my ass, WotC. Half the reason I stayed sane through my various deployments in the military was because we had pencils, paper, and some physical D&D books.
Thanks for your service and your comment. My best friend Brannan (who I mention in one of my videos) was deployed twice. He enlisted right out of high school and never loked back. He had a strong will, body, and heart. He survived his deployments and returned home safely. But several years ago at Chirstmas time, he had a stroke. We played D&D as kids whenever we could. D&D has changed my life in many ways as a social game of imagination. It's changed many lives for the better. Keep playing your way and it'll never go away.
@@dnd-and-philosophy "The military is full of nerds." - Me, but I doubt I'm the first one to say it.
Call me a grognard if you like, but in fairness- I like having digital resources to a degree, but I don't like the idea of having to put down money just to access content to a game over the internet.
My brother in Christ, if you've never done a 'Camping Campaign' you are missing out. As in, "You and the crew go camping over the course of like a week and play a tabletop RPG innawoods".
D&D may go digital but not with me
WotC is dead to me
I personally don't see a problem with moving D&D to the digital realm. They could even import OD&D, BD&D, AD&D 1 & 2, D&D 3 & 4 into the D&D Beyond atmosphere and dominate other VTT's with little comparable effort on their part.
Digital gaming has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people and play a game I never thought I could have, with my son across the world!
I certainly don't think the direction they are maneuvering D&D '24 into is healthy or profitable in the long term, but it does open a possibility of bring in older edition fans into the digital realm, extending the longevity of the digital tools and profit margin. I just don't have any hopes that they are smart enough to do so.
WOTC is entirely focused on creating a walled garden ecosystem here, there is absolutely zero chance they'll import old versions when they barely even acknowledge the existence of those versions, and they're unhappy about the fact a lot of people rejected their repackaging of 5e.