String fullTitle = 'undefined';
int postNumber = 92599724;
String image = '1713963055472154.jpg';
String date = '04/24/24(Wed)08:50:55';
String comment = 'The three stages of game design.
1. The D&D Clone.
Mindlessly copying D&D and creating a heartbreaker. Don't feel bad about doing this, as most RPG designers started out with making a D&D heartbreaker, including Steve Jackson, Mike Pondsmith, Graeme Davis, and many, many more. For some, it's the only game they know (or even the only game that existed at the time), so they don't even know how far they can deviate from the model before it stops being a TTRPG.
2. The Rebellion.
Creating new mechanics just to make the game as un-D&D as possible. A few people skip step one and just go straight into this, and the mantra is simply "Everything D&D Does is Wrong." d20? Nope, 3d6, or d%, or flipping coins, or jenga towers, or everyone starts masturbating and the last person to cum has to eat the biscuit. HP? No, Health. Or Wounds. Or Saving Graces. Or Tubs of Farmer Cheese. It doesn't matter if it actually improves the game, the key is to just not do what D&D does, even if you're just doing what D&D does but with extra steps.
3. The Understanding.
The most important stage. An epiphany that does not come to all, with both sycophants and contrarians trapped in the first two stages. But, with enough experience, you learn to recognize that there are many D&D mechanics that really were just the first answer you'd write on the test, ie. the answer most likely to simply be right. While far from perfect, it's a series of games that have attracted some of the best designers in the industry, and through the years has extensively copied from other games, taking many of the best ideas from designers in their rebellious phases while skipping over many of their worst. At this stage, a D&D mechanic is not just "Yes, copy that" or "No, it's the Devil's milk," but is evaluated and understood, and its strengths and weaknesses can be fairly assessed.';
'>>92599724
>a series of games that have attracted some of the best designers in the industry
kek';
'>>92599724
I just design my games around what I want, I don't really care about what most RPG designers allegedly started out with, which of those designers are famous names or how famous, nor do I care about deliberately contradicting anything.
D&D doesn't provide me with anything I want, barring a few basic concepts, so I won't use it, and I won't try to put a Band-Aid on it.';
'>>92599724
stage 4 is realising that 3d6 system with cum biscuit house rules is more fun that d&d';
'>>92599724
The real three stages of game design are
1. Deciding to make a game.
2. Making the game.
3. Never actually playing the game.';
'>>92599724
The REAL 3 stages of ACTUAL game design:
1. Write down mechanics, and test them.
2. Get frustrated at some small error and throw them away/delete them.
3. Repeat from step 1.';
'>>92599724
>still thinking in terms of how things relate to DnD';
'>>92600154
Everything is D&D, because D&D is every good thing that everyone says and does with it but has nothing to do with every bad thing that big mean trolls say about it and sociopathic control freaks do with it.
It doesn't matter what's in print and intended for sale, but buy it anyway and potentially have to rewrite 90-100% of the system instead of not spending your money on it and writing 100% of what you want.
And when you have fun with the things you had to add to what you bought because they weren't there in the product intended for sale, don't forget to give it credit for the things it doesn't do!
It's a complete scam (a dishonest scheme; fraudulent).';
'>>92600154
I mean, yeah. It's basically the cornerstone of the entire genre, and has been since the genre began.
I think one common mistake is imagining that D&D was made by one man, or several men, or even by a company. D&D has always been a community driven game, all the way back to when it was first published and Gygax only gave it a tiny print run and didn't even advertise it. He expected it to not sell at all and didn't invest much in it, and was correct for several months, up until the community started to experiment with it and it spread by word of mouth.
The community radically transformed the game, doing things like pressing more Tolkien influences into it and making PCs much tougher to kill. and every new edition of D&D was built off of extensive playtesting, polls, and surveys, with the ultimate goal always being to play to the largest crowd (and make the most money). Just like other games shamelessly took ideas from it, it took ideas from other games, and exists as an amalgamation of the industry.';
'>>92601410
>D&D is every good thing everyone who has done good things with has to say about it
Would you like to buy the world's greatest hammer from me? Pic related.';
'>>92601452
>pic related';
'>>92601410
Interesting. What's your take about D&D dying and getting hijacked by outsiders? Why the community couldn't avoid it?';
'>>92601525
Not related to game design, so it doesn't matter.';
'>>92601525
>D&D dying
Is it?';
'>>92599945
This except I don't start over because I'm just going to fail again like I fail at FUCKING EVERYTHING';
'>>92599724
>t's a series of games that have attracted some of the best designers in the industry
This happened exactly once and we got 4E out of it. It has otherwise never happened.';
'>>92599724
Where does 'make your ttrpg have wargame combat because you realized you dont like ttrpg combat' fall?';
'>>92601823
None of that signals that D&D is dying.
TTRPGs, by their basic nature, are incredibly difficult to turn a profit from, and most make the majority of their sales in only their first year of release.
5e is actually a bit of an anomaly for WotC, because it had consistently strong sales for years, far longer than either 3rd or 4e. Of course, it was never making Magic money, so it's always been a bit of a red-headed stepchild as far as Hasbro was concerned, and they've been stripping down the D&D team for years now. It's been a skeleton crew for at least eight years, and has been getting thinner and thinner.
And yet, D&D is still the most played TTRPG by a wide margin. Saying D&D is dying is kind of a bad joke, because 5e is still doing better than just about every other game, combined. It might not be making as much money as it used to, but you don't measure the health of a system by how much money it's making; otherwise just about every system died after its first year.
>Back to your general, 5E monkey.
Leave this board. You don't belong here.';
'>>92603328
I was here first.';
'>>92601823
>Tries to steer a thread about game design into bitching about 5E.
>Gets told that bitching 5E is not related to game design.
>Throws insults and cries about generals.
You are a lost cause.';
'>>92603959
Sincerely doubt it. I was here before the board existed.
More importantly, questions of seniority don't change that you're a antithetical to the very spirit of traditional games. You don't understand this board at all, and don't belong here.';
}