I think I've figured out whats been wrong with more modern Edition of D&D. D&D was created and written by (pretty much) two people Arneson and Gygax. With Gary doing most of the writing and the pushing forward of the product.
When it came down to the Moldav Red Box set, the most popular version of BD&D was pretty much down to the efforts of one man.
Lets jump forward to 3rd/3.5 - with 3.X edition D&D - we have more Cooks (sorry Monte, no pun intended) - Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Even so, it's pretty much just a couple of men at its core.
4th (arrgh) Edition and D&D Next have a design TEAM - a Committee designing/planning things. For me (and a lot of people) D&D 4th was a disaster - to wishy washy (nice looking, but style emphasized at the expense of substance), no real peril for the players (a lot of Hit-Points at first level, Healing Surges etc), Players only have the illusion of Freedom (its Carrot and Donkey Roleplaying at its worst IMHO).
I ran a LOT of Games, even Did library visits - I really REALLY tried to like it. But at the end of the Day it's more product than passion - and that just turns me off.
A Great Game - of all kinds, Miniatures, RPG, Boardgame, or whatever - needs a strong hand at the helm, and needs to be the vision of one or two people. Doing things by endless committee never works (just look at the British and US Governments) - when will they ever learn.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Agreed on all points!
ReplyDeleteThanks Charlie! I'm just trying to look at the whole thing realistically - I actually think D&D Next would be possible with one strong person doing it, with a couple of other designers filling in the gaps!
ReplyDeleteI'm okay with 4e. More hands in the pot leads to less unique stuff, sure, but it also lends to an easier to understand system that appeals to a broader audience. It's not the same game, but it's great for organized play :)
ReplyDelete