Hey, my whole thing was just a guess -- your guess is as good as mine.
However, I don't agree -- I think that books are "going somewhere" -- they're changing. The content isn't -- actually, I've seen several studies and reports that show that reading is up -- but the book as an object made of paper -- that is already starting to fade out. It's not going to be something that happens by Easter or anything, but IMO if you're a strategist for a company like WOTC/Hasbro, if you're not thinking about how these larger changes in technology and culture around us can be made to support your business rather than undermine it, then you're going to be out of work soon.
I saw the story the other day from CES about a digital table that was being used to play Monopoly -- the game is still there, even if it's not still played on a cardboard board.
Oh totally, the definition of the word "book" has expanded more in the past 30 years than it has in the entire history of books because we have more ways of delivering them to people. I think the important part of the definition of the word "book" here is that it is a piece of work in its own right. A book in this scenario is a piece of writing of a significant length that is self contained. Paper doesn't have to figure in, nor does a computer or ereader for that matter, but it has to stand on its own as a piece of writing. The problem with web utilities and games as a service is that they're not self contained and don't stand on their own and that's OK in the context of a service because it's meant to function as a service, not a book.
That's really my objection in this case. I don't want to rent my game, I want to own it. I want to walk away with something and not be dependent on the goodwill of the company when they decide to move on to a new product. I don't want that migration to a new product to result in my servers going dark, leaving me with nothing to show for my years-long investment in the hobby.
I agree that computers aren't going anywhere any more than books are, and we're constantly coming up with new ways to do stuff and businesses need to keep their eye on trend, but I think one of the things that we often see is a tendency to forget what worked so well with the old medium. The trick is to provide a variety of media to accomodate the fans, not to force the fans into using the medium the company feels is best.
Where I differ from you is that I don't think this is a either/or choice. I don't think -- and it has not been my experience at the table -- that having the tools to run polished, prepared encounters on a digital surface does not prevent our group for having the other sort of imagination-driven interaction when that's what is the most fun.
I think I said in my piece (or in comments on EN world in the thread) that I think that what we've seen is that, so far with the tech stuff there are a lot of things that the technology can improve for us, but the actual act of playing is still really the social act of sitting around the table and playing with friends and cracking fart jokes. Using an iPad app for a character sheet or for the game books doesn't impact that fun, but other solutions may.
Anyway, like I said, it's all just me spitballing. I could be completely wrong. My wife keeps telling me I am about other stuff, why would I be more right about this?
-j
Well I admit I was being more than a little rhetorical and I think it's more complicated than an either/or situation as well, but the key to getting consumers to spend money on something in the digital world is to offer it in a way that the customers want and when they want it. Take things like Game of Thrones. Popular show, HBO only. Not very accessible online unless you've got a cable service or you steal it. Australia accounted for something around 10% of the piracy of the show because it was broadcast a week after it was aired in the US and in a lower quality. Many came forward and said that if it was broadcast at the same time as it was in America and in the same picture quality they would not have found a torrent and watched the broadcast instead.
D&D is no different in that WOTC needs to enable players to customise their game. They might be able to do that with DDI. They might offer me a service that allows me to store my own records and resources locally and pick and choose my updates and save my system mods. As you've pointed out, the community is all ready trying to fill that gap in a digital medium. I hope they succeed but the buck stops with my wallet. If they can't deliver that and they decide not to publish books in some form that I can use without their service then they won't get my money.
I know your piece didn't specifically address any of this, but I think the issues of ownership and property are really important and when I see companies moving away from selling me property and toward selling me a service, I see my rights as a consumer being eroded away because my rights in the context of a service exchange is nowhere near what my rights to property are. We need the freedom to decide. I'm pretty sure WOTC will give us that choice this time around but I'm not so sure they will in the future, which is why I'm taking a strong stance on the issue now.
I did really like your piece though. It's provoked this conversation which is totally awesome
Its more about familiarity. If you use computer products as second nature and are so familiar with how they work, less of your mind is occupied by them, and more is free to do role playing type stuff. I do this when I play online. Others may have had less experience and more of their minds are occupied by the technology or terminology (in the case of 4E) to be able to effectively role play. So when physical books are a novelty and collectors item, and children have only read of them on their tablets and e-readers or neural implants, they will have no problem role playing because the use of the technology will be second nature to them...
I was going to pull some quotes, but found I'd be quoting just about everything kadim wrote. I'm with him on this -- I don't want to rent my content, I want to own it. I have books from 1st through 4th on my shelf, and since that shelf is in the room where we game, they're easy to refer to without having to power up a smart phone or tablet or laptop. If the power goes out at the table, we light candles and keep going.
I have the 2e Core Tools (and expansion) that I use every single week to plan out the next session. I have a lot of custom data in there that wouldn't exist if I used a DDI-type planning tool. Since people are allowed -- nay, encouraged -- to modify rules as they wish, content that can only be accessed by a company-owned portal completely closes that option, since I can't see any way we could upload our custom content (any update would overwrite our changes). If it's an install-locally product, there's no worry that modified rules, monsters, items, etc. will be deleted by the company.
Yes, ebooks are popular, but physical books are still selling satisfactorily. I anticipate paper existing alongside digital for quite some time, and I'm quite happy with that.
Great article! I love being given things to think about.
Just because WotC, a company that bumbles nearly every electronic attempt, didn't do it doesn't mean it isn't possible. They could easily rent the server space to give each subscriber 1GB of data, its literally dirt cheap at this point. Then the WotC content couldn't be modified and is read only, but you can create a mutable copy that you can edit to your hearts content and store on the server. Really there is no reason this can't be done, some people just don't understand how technology works...
Just because WotC, a company that bumbles nearly every electronic attempt, didn't do it doesn't mean it isn't possible. They could easily rent the server space to give each subscriber 1GB of data, its literally dirt cheap at this point. Then the WotC content couldn't be modified and is read only, but you can create a mutable copy that you can edit to your hearts content and store on the server. Really there is no reason this can't be done, some people just don't understand how technology works...
I understand technology quite a bit. Which is why I'd want a local copy that I can work with when there isn't an internet to get to the server.
In memory of wrecan and his Unearthed Wrecana.5e should strongly stay away from "I don't like it, so you can't have it either."
The free-to-play RPG will happen. I would guess that the game would have printed books also, at least for the forseable future. I know a lot of players like to play from their smart phone or laptop, but I also know of groups who ban such things from the game because they are distractions.
It is going to require some radical changes to the way the online tools work and/or the way the game is played. One huge problem with the 4e character builder is the inflexibility. I gave up trying to create custom magic items for 4e because the players never wanted to use them because they can't be integrated into the character builder. If I was trying to create a really custom world, I would need a way to add new races, feats, powers, spells, magic items, and mundane gear. Plus the players need some way to pickup the right material for their character and campaign. This can't even be by DM or player because I might be running more then one campaign with different material and it is quite common for players to have characters in different DM's games. It is going to require a vastly more powerful tool then anything we have seen so far to actually support such a game.
What I think will happen over the short term is the market will get divied into the online supported RPGs and the old school pen and paper RPGs. The online games will have powerful online tools and be setup so you can play online over virtual table tops or play around a table with printed or online material. However, you will be limited to what the game maker provides and you will either pay a subscription or pay for bits of the game. There will be options to tweak and customize things, but only within carefully constrained channels. The pen and paper RPGs will focus on world building, because that is what they will have over the online games. More support for custom material, more guide lines for creating custom worlds/races/religions/feats and probably even help for creating custom rules.
If I had to guess for D&D Next, the online subscriptions will be maintained and online tools provided. The character builder will be the focus of this, and a character builder and compendium are likely the only tools released with the game. However, other tools will be added and eventually a real virtual table top. If WotC is smart, they will make the character builder available to everybody for free, with some limitations, such as only 1 or 2 characters, to help bring in the casual players who are not going to pay for an online subscription.
Its more about familiarity. If you use computer products as second nature and are so familiar with how they work, less of your mind is occupied by them, and more is free to do role playing type stuff. I do this when I play online. Others may have had less experience and more of their minds are occupied by the technology or terminology (in the case of 4E) to be able to effectively role play. So when physical books are a novelty and collectors item, and children have only read of them on their tablets and e-readers or neural implants, they will have no problem role playing because the use of the technology will be second nature to them...
you must have this post confused with something else, 'cause that one was about my rights to property in the digital age and what I expect as a consumer when I buy something, not how to integrate digital tools into my game. I actually use digital media in my game extensively. I play over skype almost exclusively, I use pdfs, my character sheets are .odt files. My planning is done using pdf research and SRD material (until I moved to 2e, then the SRD left the scene). Until recently I used a dice rolling script instead of actual dice, but I went back to dice after ohhh, 4 years without them because I decided I missed them. And it does feel cool to roll a die, but the script served me well and I have no objections to using one. I've used spreadsheets and HTML calculators to determine things like treasure, xp rewards, random encounters and all sorts.
So don't mistake me for some kind of technophobe. I want to own what I buy; I don't particularly mind if it's print or digital.
Just because WotC, a company that bumbles nearly every electronic attempt, didn't do it doesn't mean it isn't possible. They could easily rent the server space to give each subscriber 1GB of data, its literally dirt cheap at this point. Then the WotC content couldn't be modified and is read only, but you can create a mutable copy that you can edit to your hearts content and store on the server. Really there is no reason this can't be done, some people just don't understand how technology works...
I understand technology quite a bit. Which is why I'd want a local copy that I can work with when there isn't an internet to get to the server.
If you knew so much about technology you would know that is equally possible...
Its more about familiarity. If you use computer products as second nature and are so familiar with how they work, less of your mind is occupied by them, and more is free to do role playing type stuff. I do this when I play online. Others may have had less experience and more of their minds are occupied by the technology or terminology (in the case of 4E) to be able to effectively role play. So when physical books are a novelty and collectors item, and children have only read of them on their tablets and e-readers or neural implants, they will have no problem role playing because the use of the technology will be second nature to them...
you must have this post confused with something else, 'cause that one was about my rights to property in the digital age and what I expect as a consumer when I buy something, not how to integrate digital tools into my game. I actually use digital media in my game extensively. I play over skype almost exclusively, I use pdfs, my character sheets are .odt files. My planning is done using pdf research and SRD material (until I moved to 2e, then the SRD left the scene). Until recently I used a dice rolling script instead of actual dice, but I went back to dice after ohhh, 4 years without them because I decided I missed them. And it does feel cool to roll a die, but the script served me well and I have no objections to using one. I've used spreadsheets and HTML calculators to determine things like treasure, xp rewards, random encounters and all sorts.
So don't mistake me for some kind of technophobe. I want to own what I buy; I don't particularly mind if it's print or digital.
Personally I don't think I'd pay for a service like an srd when other places offer it for free unless it would drastically change game play. I also think that it shouldn't just include everything as people might want 1-2 features but not other things. The other thing is if I'm not playing for months in a row I'm not going to want to want to continue paying. It just seems overly complicated in my opinion. I'm also a person who prefers books rather than always a digital copy. Hard drives go bad, internet may not always work, and sometimes its more problematic to look it up online/computer rather than with a book. Someone else also brought up a point of companies 'renting' us the material which is precisely why I do not own something like a Kindle or other e-reader. I want to own my books not rent them. WotC should give us all the options because people still like hard copies and some even prefer having both available. Some people enjoy going all digital and that's fine.
