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What's changed since Ray Winniger replaced Mike Mearls?
Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2020 7:13 pm
by Lago PARANOIA
Read this thread for some background information: WotC is being sued twice, one of which is lulzy and the other one isn't. What I want to know is how this relates to Mike Mearls being replaced by Ray Winniger. Everyone knows that Mearls is a reactionary dork and doesn't know the basics of project management -- and whatever faults Ray has, he does have project management experience. I'm sure he looked at two contracts WotC negotiated before his time and decided not to honor them. And I'm curious as what what he sees that Mike Mearls didn't see.
What's more, with 5E D&D's significantly accelerated release schedule in 2020, it also makes me wonder how much of 5E D&D's slow release schedule was due to Mearls' laziness and lack of imagination rather than a deliberate strategy.
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 6:51 am
by Dean
Let's be clear that D&D's lethargic schedule was never a "deliberate strategy". Every person who's said that for the past 5 years is a brand apologist idiot of some kind or another. Companies can't rope-a-dope. Someone should pay Mearls to write a guide on how to remain employed despite doing less than anyone could imagine possible. Then ten years after being paid to do that Mearls would send that book publisher a bunch of articles he wrote for his blog years ago, to be packaged and sold under the title "Mearls Book Of Everything".
Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 3:38 pm
by Lago PARANOIA
https://theweek.com/articles/952872/pra ... um=twitter
While apparently the pandemic has been a mini-revival for D&D, I have to say that I'm glad that Ray is at the helm instead of Mearls.
Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2020 4:39 pm
by Lago PARANOIA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvNtw86 ... %27sTemple
Treantmonk, one of the oldskool 'basketweaving is for chodes, play a real class' advocates -- who has admittedly mellowed out a lot in the past few years -- thinks that 5E is approaching its twilight. And I agree.
I do think that with Ray Winniger replacing Mike Mearls, WotC is gearing up for a 6th Edition. Unlike Mike and Andy Collins, Ray has actual project management experience (with Microsoft, no less) so I think that a lot of the projects that 4th Edition tried and failed to get off of the ground and that 5th Edition didn't even try at all have a much better chance in his hands. Not just the integrated tabletop, but also book translations to languages besides English, and content on sites like D&D Beyond and Roll 20.
The biggest earthquake to hit 5th Edition was the shift to digital space. I think the 4th Edition SaaS integrated tabletop came too early for that edition, but 12 years later have seen massive changes in social media to make a project like that much more viable.