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Jan 7, 2013 -- 8:35PM, kezzek wrote:

My dream would be to have a touch screen table top platform which would provide music, videos, and pictures to support each adventure. Characters could be programmed into the platform and the touch screen would help run the adventure and simplify statistics.
The touch screen might cost $500 and professionally made adventures would cost $40 each. DMs could create their own adventures for free with software provided.  All rule books would be included in PDF format on the touchscreen.  There could even be shareware adventures or for sale adventures with ratings.
Some scoring mechanism might help compare players around the world. Some Skype like software might allow players in different cities or countries to play together if both owned the touch screen tabletop.  It could be like a larger iPad which was dedicated to roleplaying. A touch screen flat monitor which is lying face up.

Check out this project, www.youtube.com/watch?v=n94E3IeBquY
It's a tech demo for the Microsoft surface (the large, table sized one) D&D application. It's pretty neat.

The only thing I care about, in the end, is to have the ability to have my content in a physical medium. That means my data is something I can back up onto disk and I can print things as and when I choose.

If they want to sell that as a service, fine, but if they want me to rent their content with no rights of ownership to material I've paid for, they can all go to hell.

If I subscribe to a magazine, I have those rights. It's not unreasonable to expect htem here.

Jan 9, 2013 -- 3:03PM, radgnome wrote:

Hey all, I'm flattered anyone read my stupid column.   
 

It was a pretty neat column. Although I have one question for you gnome.

I comment and mentioned a marketplace like service, and a couple of people, including you, mentioned that it's easy for just anyone to make a PDF. My question is, aren't there restrictions to just publishing things under the d20 system? Especially for sale? Aren't the use of certain names, and other trademarked things, restricted?

Other than that, thanks for the article man! We need more people looking towards the future, rather than barracading themselves in the past

Jan 9, 2013 -- 3:03PM, radgnome wrote:

Hey all, I'm flattered anyone read my stupid column.  

I really think that, in the end, printing books and selling pdfs are just too easy, too democratized. The tools are the ticket -- and we're already seeing that play out.  

What this really means is companies have decided that instead of empowering their customers by providing them with property, they're deciding to keep us under their control by not allowing us to own the things we invest in. Instead, they retain control of every aspect of their product and we pay them for the pleasure of being told when, where, and how we use their product.

The problem isn't so much with the shift to a service, it's the reality that companies don't see their customers as people. I work damn hard for my money and I want to know that when I give it to someone, it's going to be bringing me something that's worth my hard work. There are some good companies out there that do offer services and take care of their customers, but WOTC's most recent track record hasn't left me with a lot of confidence. And people will say "oh no! That's just Hasbro, the evil bad guy!" but the fact of the matter is that WOTC is Hasbro, just like Blizzard is Activision and most brands in your kitchen are Proctor and Gamble. You can't escape the fact that we're dealing with unscrupulous companies that don't see us as people and that's what makes me unwilling to give ground on insisting that what's mine is mine.

Jan 9, 2013 -- 3:03PM, radgnome wrote:

As far as the download/web service choice goes, it really only makes sense to have a web based service. Do you remember how hard it was to get the downloads of the updated character builder when they would launch? The servers would be crippled by the demand for downloads. Updating a web service -- and allowing access to it -- is far more efficient.  They also get a lot of great analytical data out of the bargain.  

I think it depends on how you want to use the product. I'm not interested in errata and web updates. I see such things as an object of last resort: when I can't find it in the book and can't come up with my own solution, I go see if there was an update online. That means that trying to get the most recent version of a character builder that integrates updates in the way you describe is actually quite disruptive and unwelcome. It means that in any number of small ways, I am being told how to play and while I like having the framework of an RPG (the reason I buy books) it means I do not want to log on one day to find that all my character sheets have been modified to reflect some update - an update that may or may not be necessary because my group hasn't deemed it an issue or we've come up with our own solution.

Furthermore, the company's products become progressively less useful as I adapt the game because the gap between what's printed and what I'm actually doing gets wider as the years wear on and I develop my own campaign. I devise new races, classes, skills, feats, items and more to suit my own game.

Jan 9, 2013 -- 3:03PM, radgnome wrote:

 I mean, can you imagine how interesting it would be to see which monsters are accessed most often? If they were to continue with the distributed install model, they would never have those sorts of data points to work with. 

To be honest, I've had enough of being tracked. If WOTC wants data about what I do, I'm more than happy to tell them myself if they ask. I know it's a useless gesture to boycott every single thing that tracks you, but the more I can do to discourage it and opt out, the happier I am. And again, what if I'm using monsters they haven't written? What if my races are not present in the software? Are they going to allow me to input my own modifications to their data present, like modifying a profile? How will that interact with these live updates and tracking efforts? What happens if I build a set of things around a mechanic that is modified by errata to a place where my idea no longer functions, but I'm having a lot of fun with my creation and so is the rest of my group? Maybe they'll decide to create an opt out for updates to avoid these issues, but what if I want some but not all of the updates? What about server load then, if they have to track and store everybody's extensive preferences and retrieve them on demand?

A company should not place their customers in a situation where using the thing as intended puts them at odds with the product. A table top RPG is designed to be freely modified by the player base, and web based utilities such as you describe does not lend itself to enabling modifications of the kind often made in these games. I know it could be done, but it can't be done very easily and I doubt a company such as WOTC will be able to justify the expense of properly supporting it to the extent I'm accustomed. Perhaps the next generation of gamers will be happier to be told how to play, but I'm not.

Jan 9, 2013 -- 3:03PM, radgnome wrote:

And it means that you can interact with that content anywhere -- on your phone, on a friend's computer,  on a laptop in Best Buy waiting to get chased off by a guy in a blue shirt. And more and more, this is the interaction model people will expect.

So, yeah, there's a risk of alienating peoploe like you, kadim. They'll need to be careful as they design their business plan around this.  But, I think it has some cool potential. 

-rg (Radiating Gnome on En World)

I think remote access tools are important and there should be some capacity to remotely access things you buy, especially when the products are bought online as digital products. I should also say that I do consume digital services, but when it comes to things that I tend to want to modify a lot I avoid them because nobody's ever really managed to deliver a digital service that's allowed me to freely modify the product, save it, and access it later through their medium. D&D is something I've always got into the guts of and modified heavily and a D&D service that depends on everyone using the published rules with only superficial changes won't cut it.

I am demanding the capacity to have physical access to my data because that's how I use the product once I've purchased it, not because I object to digital services as a concept. Maybe they will prove me wrong and give me a web based engine that does all the things I want, but I doubt it.

Basically if DDI is the future, even a much more moddable and open DDI, then I'll have to give someone else my money. Really what companies should be doing is offering a variety of services that empower customers to consume the product in the way that best suits their needs instead of dictating to their customers how their product can be bought and used.

Xguild -

Yeah that's true too. A bit like how people who read a book are predisposed to disliking a film 'cause the film contradicts what they imagined. It's difficult to reconcile.

My theory is that all this stuff will illustrate exactly where the computer cannot be used as a delivery system. We've seen some of it all ready but as we move into proper digital table tops and pure digital interfaces we'll get to see even more.

Books aren't going anywhere. Even if the company chooses not to publish them, someone will create one. Even if the company shuts that person's website down, the book will then be out there and once that happens, people will play D&D using the books 'cause it's the medium they prefer.

The choice, then, is simple: do they want those customers to pay them or not?