Audio EXP Podcast: #230 – What year of the dragon?

Welcome home.

This is Audio EXP for the 10th of February, and the episode title is “What year of the dragon?” 

[The following is a transcript of Audio EXP: #230]

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Terry Maranda won the February vote for the RPG Publisher Spotlight. I’ve got in touch, but we’re really still in the introductions phase, and so we will ramp up the conversation this coming week. 

Today is the lunar New Year; on the Chinese calendar, it’s the Year of the Dragon. Dungeons & Dragons, I know, don’t have a crystal clear birthday, but most people put it in January.

I was expecting something from Wizards of the Coast but didn’t really see it. There’s that Joe Manganiello documentary, but that’s still due; there’s been some merch, but that’s an everyday thing now, and the revised core rules aren’t out, and The Book of Many Things feels like less than an also-run.

I’m underwhelmed, but I may also be impatient. There might be logistics in play, and Wizards of the Coast are waiting to line up ducks and get things sorted behind the scenes before making some surprise announcements.

I guess it’s also possible they didn’t want to be accused of co-opting a cultural moment, such as the Year of the Dragon, for their own financial benefit, and that’s a fair point.

What do you think? Will 2024 be a dramatic 50th birthday for D&D?

In news, at least two companies popped onto the radar as RPG publishers to watch this year.

The first is Evil Genius Games or Evil Genius Productions. It’s the same company, but I see both brands and haven’t bothered to ask for clarity. I think Productions is the parent and Games is the RPG publisher.

Evil Genius is already interesting for, as new kids on the block, rocking up with licenses like Highlander, Pacific Rim and Kong. They even got into the Rebel Moon RPG, had a fight and made friends later with Netflix.

This week, though, a whole string of employees left, with BJ Hensley saying it wasn’t a healthy company to work for.

Dave Scott, the CEO, quickly addressed concerns with a public post on EN World confirming there had been layoffs and that the company was working on new products, collectively discussing and then rejecting controversial technologies like Blockchain.

So, I think it’s safe to say I am working on more than just tabletop games. A games publisher working with technology is likely to be in the area of virtual tabletops, library and subscription services like D&D Beyond or group/GM finders. I’ve my own theory for Evil Genius.

Okay, it’s also worth acknowledging that the public comment about technology does not line up with the ‘healthy place’ comment entirely. The tech angle might be a misdirection.

The other company that jumped onto the radar this week is Lightforge and Project O.R.C.S..

I don’t think it’s right to call Project O.R.C.S. a virtual tabletop. It’s closer to a computer game, but it needs a GM (aka a Guide), and it’s designed for that collaborative storytelling which comes from the best tabletop experiences while being played online.

Technically, it’s impressive. Time will tell whether it can cross the critical mass that all such projects face – that’s where no one plays it because not enough gamers use it, and not enough gamers use it because no one else plays it.

My mind loops back to Wizards of the Coast and their virtual tabletop, once known as a play space, which may or may not be out for 2024. They are undoubtedly trying to leap a generation over Roll20 and FoundryVTT with their 3d/computer game-like experience, but that’s a challenge. To do that, Wizards of the Coast have had to buy some hardcore game developers, and they have no role model to determine what a good and desirable experience for gamers might be.

Lightforge are also hardcore game developers and have the same chance as WotC to get the user experience right. If Project ORCS hits Steam before the WotC official VTT then it’ll also set the initial expectations.

Wizards of the Coast, I suspect, is a slower machine than Lightforge. It’ll be easier for the latter than the former to change directions if the first generation of their online gaming environment doesn’t work for people.

As it happens, I posted some thoughts on GMs quickly changing their mind on Geek Native this week too.

I had the idea after reading The Immortal Think Tank’s comic where the GM has the characters wake up in a coffin, buried alive after being poisoned, only for one player to point out that their character is immune to poison.

The fix? Actually, what happened was the character was hit on the head with a hammer.

The player is happy, but my brain goes, “Wot, wait; doesn’t the character get any chance to resist?” I know not all games work like that; some take cinematic leaps forward, but it was my gut response.

As a result, I shared some RPG tips about keeping any retcons brief, adding some humour if appropriate and owning the mistake.

I also think it’s important to minimise disruption, take player input if necessary and deal with minor issues later if that’s less disruptive.

I still like D&D’s “Rule of Cool”. Oh, it sounds like I will say something positive about D&D in this podcast.

In fairness, this week I also interviewed Harry Reynolds ahead of The London Card Show, on this weekend. I asked him questions about sustainability and fake cards.

Ace Grading, a sponsor, is bringing a machine to the London Card Show to detect fake cards. That’s a telling problem, isn’t it? A hobby that’s so terrorised by crime and money that forgery is common enough that attempts to thwart it need to be automated.

I guess those have been tough questions for trading cards, WotC, and Evil Genius, with a ‘wait and see’ for Lightforge.

We’re not going to wrap up with tough questions and will finish with bundles instead. That’s the usual way.

There are two at the Bundle of Holding; one for the superhero Champions TTRPG from the 80s and one from the later, related, HERO System.

Lastly, there’s a large Cyberpunk RPG bundle on Humble. It’s a good way to go from curious to expert.

On that note, enjoy the year of the dragon, and I’ll see you next week.