There are many RPGs out there. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of D&D mechanics, but you have to admit: they work. Plus, there's a ton of great existing content, especially if you're into the old-school scene. It's that community that has kept me in the D&D ecosystem for three decades.
But there are plenty of other games out there with mechanics that work just as well, and if the community of D&D goes away, then what's left? Not much for this gamer!
Will most players care if the broader community is greatly diminished? Probably not. But the most engaged and interested players will. And guess which category the majority of DMs fall into? No DM = no game.
The writing is on the wall, Wizards. I know that Papa Hasbro wants D&D to be more monetized, but I wonder if that can really be achieved by enraging your most dedicated players. Perhaps there's a more community-positive way to achieve that monetization. Best-in-class digital tools is probably the way to go. It's not easy, but maybe somebody should have told you: it's not easy to make a buck in the RPG industry. Distribution is democratized and quality is king. Trying to lock down IP is very much at odds with the needs of your customers.
Good luck! But I'm keeping my eyes on Black Flag, thinking more about Mythras, etc.
Unless WotC/Hasbro pushes to fully digitize 6E on DnDBeyond, then they develop and institute some sort of sophisticated AI chatbot DM option. I'd bet real money someone in corporate is considering this...
Problem is, I don't believe an AI chatbot DM could ever fully replace a real person. Idk maybe someday, but definitely not any time soon. We've all used enough robot phone trees to know the promise and the reality of automation are two very different things. I think a lot of the RPG nuance and flavor would be lost.
Actually, I just realized you could use AI chatbots to mimic players too... so if WotC/Hasbro set it up right, you could have the "experience" of playing with a DM and a full group whenever you wanted to log on, at your convenience, but you'd be the only real person there... or maybe you wouldn't even know if the DM/PCs were real or AI... (all my best friends are AI chatbots!)
Spooky! I would hate to not know if my players were real...that would be even worse than a virtual DM. Let's face it: DMing is, among other things, a performance. Performing for a group of robots would be sad and depressing.
On other news, I'm pretty disappointed with Wizards' craven response to the community outrage. Some parts of it are so obviously disingenuous. If they really want community feedback, then post these so-called drafts publicly for everyone to discuss. The version of the OGL that was leaked was accompanied by NDAs! C'mon Wizards/Hasbro, who do you think you're fooling??? This insults our INT! So many other parts of the response seemed very suspect, but that was where it was most obvious.
Also, the fact that they are backing off VTTs suggests that building best-in-class digital tools is not on the roadmap. I smell poor strategy and PR all around.
There are many RPGs out there. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of D&D mechanics, but you have to admit: they work. Plus, there's a ton of great existing content, especially if you're into the old-school scene. It's that community that has kept me in the D&D ecosystem for three decades.
But there are plenty of other games out there with mechanics that work just as well, and if the community of D&D goes away, then what's left? Not much for this gamer!
Will most players care if the broader community is greatly diminished? Probably not. But the most engaged and interested players will. And guess which category the majority of DMs fall into? No DM = no game.
The writing is on the wall, Wizards. I know that Papa Hasbro wants D&D to be more monetized, but I wonder if that can really be achieved by enraging your most dedicated players. Perhaps there's a more community-positive way to achieve that monetization. Best-in-class digital tools is probably the way to go. It's not easy, but maybe somebody should have told you: it's not easy to make a buck in the RPG industry. Distribution is democratized and quality is king. Trying to lock down IP is very much at odds with the needs of your customers.
Good luck! But I'm keeping my eyes on Black Flag, thinking more about Mythras, etc.
Unless WotC/Hasbro pushes to fully digitize 6E on DnDBeyond, then they develop and institute some sort of sophisticated AI chatbot DM option. I'd bet real money someone in corporate is considering this...
Problem is, I don't believe an AI chatbot DM could ever fully replace a real person. Idk maybe someday, but definitely not any time soon. We've all used enough robot phone trees to know the promise and the reality of automation are two very different things. I think a lot of the RPG nuance and flavor would be lost.
Actually, I just realized you could use AI chatbots to mimic players too... so if WotC/Hasbro set it up right, you could have the "experience" of playing with a DM and a full group whenever you wanted to log on, at your convenience, but you'd be the only real person there... or maybe you wouldn't even know if the DM/PCs were real or AI... (all my best friends are AI chatbots!)
Matrix D&D much?
Spooky! I would hate to not know if my players were real...that would be even worse than a virtual DM. Let's face it: DMing is, among other things, a performance. Performing for a group of robots would be sad and depressing.
On other news, I'm pretty disappointed with Wizards' craven response to the community outrage. Some parts of it are so obviously disingenuous. If they really want community feedback, then post these so-called drafts publicly for everyone to discuss. The version of the OGL that was leaked was accompanied by NDAs! C'mon Wizards/Hasbro, who do you think you're fooling??? This insults our INT! So many other parts of the response seemed very suspect, but that was where it was most obvious.
Also, the fact that they are backing off VTTs suggests that building best-in-class digital tools is not on the roadmap. I smell poor strategy and PR all around.