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Slashdot's Rob Rozeboom Interviews D&D Designer Mike Mearls - Part 2 (video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the all-my-imaginary-friends-are-giant-lizards-that-breath-fire dept.

On July 18 we ran Part One of a video conversation (really audio with slides) between Slashdot editor Rob "samzenpus" Rozeboom and Mike Mearls, Senior Manager for the Dungeons and Dragons Design Team. This is the rest of that interview.

21 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. transcription? by bananaquackmoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Transcribe the video or nobody cares.

  2. Re:Ugh, more off-topic video junk by syockit · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why won't an interview with the designer of a game, that many nerds play, be worthy of Slashdot, which touts to be "news for nerds"?

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  3. Re:Ugh, more off-topic video junk by Jeng · · Score: 2

    It's not the content, it is the manner in which it is presented.

    --
    Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
  4. Re:Ugh, more off-topic video junk by Jeng · · Score: 1

    I'm thinking they are trying to get into the content creating business when what people come here for is news aggregating.

    I guess they are hoping to be able to sell the content they create which is funny when their own customer base doesn't want to view it.

    --
    Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
  5. Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by Sir_Eptishous · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Hi, I'm Mike Mearls. I work for a company that created an incredibly lame and atrocious game called "Magic: The Gathering". A game, brilliantly designed so that you're chances of winning increase by purchasing more product from our company. But I digress...

    Back in the 90's my company went out and "saved" TSR, the venerable and rickety enterprise which brought the world Dungeons and Dragons, the popular role playing game. TSR had floundered under idiotic management for years, and WoTC swooped in to take the name, revive the brand and make the game better for all.

    What happened however was that the game that WoTC created had very, very little in common with the original TSR version, and along with subsequent iterations, it was all designed to generate perpetual revenue by using the same methods employed in that other, atrocious, WoTC POS card game, "Magic".

    WoTC version of D&D was a godsend to the type of player who can't lose, which fit in perfectly in an America where everyone is a winner and all go home with a trophy...

    WoTC new iteration of D&D attempts to patch over issues with our last release, however it is all really just another money grab, a way to get more pasty high school nerds to spend what little money they have on overpriced books, supplements, etc; This is the strategy WoTC has maintained and will continue with. So don't be fooled by imitations, only WoTC offers a true consumer experience at the expense of playability and enjoyment.

    Enjoy!"

    --
    We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
    1. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by nschubach · · Score: 1

      Oh come on... Magic is built around obtaining rare cards from booster packs. We all know this. Maybe if you don't ever play with anyone using cards out of your base starter pack.. sure.

      Pre D&D 3 (I'll admit, in 3-3.5 stories had some tough spots) you had to mostly rely on the DM letting things slide. Good or bad, the new D&D are easier to get into and play for longer because they've been simplified to the point where anyone that's picked up a computer RPG or an MMO can at least play it and understand it without dying too hard.

      --
      Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
    2. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh come on... Magic is built around obtaining rare cards from booster packs. We all know this. Maybe if you don't ever play with anyone using cards out of your base starter pack.. sure.

      No, Magic is built around combos and system mastery. A good player with a starter deck can easily thump an inexperienced player with a deck full of rares. Buying more cards can give you more options for building a deck, but it doesn't translate into a higher chance of winning any given game.

      Pre D&D 3 (I'll admit, in 3-3.5 stories had some tough spots) you had to mostly rely on the DM letting things slide. Good or bad, the new D&D are easier to get into and play for longer because they've been simplified to the point where anyone that's picked up a computer RPG or an MMO can at least play it and understand it without dying too hard.

      They've been streamlined, yes, but that's not the same as simplified. The modern rulesets are easier to grasp because they're more consistent and make more sense. Complexity, on the other hand, has increased in several areas due to the increased focus on customizability (less so in 4th Ed compared to 3rd, but still far more than pre-3rd).

    3. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by Sir_Eptishous · · Score: 1

      because they've been simplified to the point where anyone that's picked up a computer RPG or an MMO can at least play it and understand it without dying too hard.

      Exactly...

      --
      We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
    4. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by LordLucless · · Score: 1

      Oh come on... Magic is built around obtaining rare cards from booster packs. We all know this. Maybe if you don't ever play with anyone using cards out of your base starter pack.. sure.

      I haven't played M:TG since highschool, where what you say was true. But it seems these days, people plan their decks by looking up cards on the net, then go out and buy the singles they want to construct the deck; no luck involved. In fact, these days people just wait until some people on the internet crunch the numbers, assemble the "best" decks, and then fork out money for decks other people constructed.

      It seems rather...boring.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
    5. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by nschubach · · Score: 1

      My biggest gripes with the new rules are the classes and spell casting. Before, you could make spell casting warriors, but now the classes and spells they get are all pre-defined (ie: you won't get the spells to pick from)

      --
      Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
    6. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by Sunnan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Except WotC did save D&D... by coming up with the OGL license, which enabled the entire OSR/retroclone movement.

    7. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by aaron552 · · Score: 1

      If you're talking about 4e, you clearly haven't even looked at it. There is a system in 4e for obtaining abilities from other classes (like your arcane-spell-casting warrior), although it's rarely worth the effort. Also, there are multiple choices of abilities for each class, not to mention Paragon Paths which are similar to 3e's Prestige Classes.

      If you're talking about NEXT, well, the playtests have (AFAIK) only included prebuilt characters, so of course there's not going to be any choice of abilities.

      --
      I had a sig once. It was lost in the great storm of '09.
    8. Re:Deep in the WoTC Bunker... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      I wonder why he hasn't looked at 4e...maybe because buying the same rulebooks over and over again because they changed the phrasing on Hold Person is kind of...ooops, sounds like MtG or something.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  6. Ehrmagehrd by Fned · · Score: 1

    Mehrk Mearls

  7. he's not a designer by apcullen · · Score: 2

    Senior Manager for the Dungeons and Dragons Design Team

    Why not sit down with a bunch of actual designers instead of interviewing the manager?

  8. This is Slashdot by heptapod · · Score: 2

    People like to read articles on Slashdot, not watch non-pornographic videos.

    At least post a fucking transcript.

  9. We still play 1sd ed rules... by Grog6 · · Score: 1

    Why fuck up a good thing? :)

    RIP, EGG.

    --
    Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
  10. Re:Ugh, more off-topic video junk by Ogive17 · · Score: 1

    It's not the content, it is the manner in which it is presented.

    Ewwww technology!!! *shakes fist*

    --
    "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
  11. Re:Gary Gygax by GloomE · · Score: 2

    I can see the interview now.
    Interviewer: So what's in store for future D&D players?
    Gary: BRAINS!
    Interviewer: ARGH!

  12. Re:Roll 1 for initiative... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

    Looks like the gelatinous cube got you first...

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  13. Text instead of video by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 1

    I like text much better... too inconvenient to watch video 99% of the time.