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| TSR, WotC AND WoG: A mismatch made in Renton? By David Insley |
| THIS EDITORIAL DOES NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THE OWNERS, MANAGEMENT OR PATRONS OF WIZARDS OF THE COAST, THE RPGA, THE BIG FAT GUY NAMED STEVE WHO LIVES IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER, THE AMERICAN COMMUNIST PARTY, THE MICHIGAN MILITIA, OR ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION, INCLUDING THE NOW-DEFUNCT WoGFC. BUT IT DARNED WELL OUGHT TO. FEEL LIKE COMMENTING? GO RIGHT AHEAD - DROP ME A LINE. |
| COLUMNIST NOTE: This editorial is extremely out-of-date, and not much can be done to make it current, as the location of the online discussion thread whence came the reason for this rant hasn't existed in six years. But, as this is an archive, after all, I feel it must, in the interest of completing the archive, be printed here. Those Fan Club members who are on AOL have the "privilege" of visiting the Greyhawk message boards, which are distant kin to the MPGN board and so many others like it on the WWW. Recently, Lisa Stevens, TSR product group manager, posted a query concerning TSR's use of the message boards here at AOL, asking the following: "[It has been suggested that] y'all aren't interested in having the folks here at TSR run our ideas by you before we put pen to the page and put out our products. Is this true? Would y'all really like the TSR staff to quit using this folder as a means to find out what you, the Greyhawk fans, would like to see in products? I mean, we can do this. It is much easier to just go to our offices each day and put out the products that WE want to see, without interacting with the fans who helped keep Greyhawk alive all these years. But, I think that it benefits both Greyhawk and its fans, and TSR to have a line of dialogue with y'all. And this folder is one very good way to do that. Now, I also agree that making a Greyhawk-specific folder for creative writing to go into is a great idea. But I guess I'm just confused by the comment about TSR doing its "trolling for ideas" elsewhere. So why don't y'all sound off and tell me what you want. Personally, I would love to be able to use y'all as a resource for Greyhawk as we launch into the next century of the oldest published campaign in the world." My first feeling when reading this was incredulity - "They're even CONSIDERING trying to produce stuff without gamer input?!?!" No company in this line of work which intends to succeed would try to put out products without some kind of buyer input. Heck, entire industries would die if this were how things were done in business. Imagine how many types of car would be available without the input of the buyer, for instance! I would like to say that I eagerly await seeing the 1998 WoG stuff, but I'm not all that excited about it. Look at it like this - someone up there, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, or wherever TSR is based this particular week, figured that condensing the longest-running fantasy campaign ever produced for RPGs into a paltry 48 pages sufficient to cover a five-year market absence, and an utter lack of support for the world that put TSR on the gaming map. That they apparently did their math on this is the scariest of the thoughts on the issue. Someone in Renton actually figured that a general guide to Greyhawk as a WHOLE merited no more than the equivalent of 40 percent of a single issue of Dragon magazine. What I mean to say is that I do not think TSR has given WoG fans their due, and that though I love WoG and want to see the 1998 products, I doubt they will be owrth the price. And it is NOT the fault of the average gamer if they do not sell - it is TSR's, and, by extension, Wizards' as well, since they're the owner of the copyrights, etc., now. But we, the gamers of Greyhawk, can prevent this from EVER happening again by letting them know EXACTLY what we want, and by not hesitating to tell them!! Granted, I haven't had a sneak preview of the new WoG modules, but I am far too good at predicting over-hyped, disappointing entertainment venues to expect to have to backpedal on this. As a matter of fact, I'm about to consider a job as Kevin Costner's movie project consultant... Yeah, I'll wind up buying all the WoG released, unless they're EXCEPTIONALLY disappointing - though I admit I won't pay the full price for it. Of course, I haven't paid full price for any gaming items in years, but that's because I have lots of connections - and a nearby B. Dalton's. Odds are I'll even use most or all of it some day, unlike that copy of module DL1- Dargons of Despair, that I bought in 1983 and never did use. But if 48 pages is all TSR can come up with for - how many million square miles? - then I'd LOVE to see them edit the Fodor's Europe 1999 travel guide. The whole book: "Paris - nice at night, but watch for suicidal lycanthropes. London - the town has a stench like an aborigine's armpit. Berlin - done rebuilding after the Big One. Prague - nudity in public is legal. Sob the rest. The end." TSR's short-falling claim to a vested interest in player input, as borne out by what I fear will be a lackluster 1998 product tree (this opinion is based on the blurbs in the 1998 WotC catalog and my knowledge of printing costs and all that junk), contrasted with Ms. Stevens' questions concerning TSR's continued use of its message area are, well, confusing and unsettling, to say the least. They claim to want our opinions, then, after waiting half a DECADE and compiling our input (supposedly, at least), we get a 48-page book that isn't even a paperback, but an over-priced, saddle-stitched spluge that's less than half the size of a single issue of Dragon? I appreciate the carrot, but, dang, that stick HURTS... Sooo, gentle reader, what I want to say in summation is this - chime in to TSR, WotC, your mom, whomever you think has a direct effect on the future of WoG if you want them to step up and give Hreyhawk its due. Personally, though I'd not go nearly so far as to say they've turned a deaf ear to gamers on what WoG should comprise, the From the Ashes and pre-Ashes timelines seem to have been left by the wayside. I have always been an advocate of speaking out (as if you hadn't noticed yet), and I think we need to make a little more noise if we're going to get the high-quality, playable stuff we, as consumers, DESERVE. Besaides, it's not like they're truly insane and are going to outright IGNORE us. Even those of us who liked Pepsi Clear know commercial seppukku when we see it! Or, if you'd like, send ME a short email detailing, say, your top three favorites, least favorite - or whatever aspects of Greyhawk you want or don't want to see more about in the future. I'll compile a list and send it to them myself, and let everyone know if I get a response, and what form it takes, in a future column. Though I myself am often broke just when something truly good does hit the shelves, I believe deep down that the majority of us would prefer to save up for a couple months and pay a little more for a module, supplement, or new hardcover book (like, Domains of Dread, a profoundly useful and all-encompassing product for the Ravenloft campaign setting) that my friends recommend - than to pay an ever-increasing amount for what is less and less product - and more hype than substance. By further comparison, check out this fact - the Alternity RPG's fast-play rules that appeared with last month's Dragon and Dungeon magazines are roughly half the size fo teh Greyhawk guids that is due out a couple of months from now! It's obvious we need to tell them to give us MORE, and tell them WHAT we want, precisely, or WoG is goind to die a second death. If we don't, it's back to Risk and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay for my group, as well as many others, I'm sure - or (gasp) Forgotten Realms! David Insley |
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| This column originally published 2 April 1998 |