Monte Cook Left the D&D Next Project. So What?
Unless you spend long periods in a portable hole (with a Necklace of Adaptation to breathe) you are aware that Monte Cook left the D&D 5th Edition project. Though gracious in his leave-taking and stressing his departure related
People forget what “Wizards of the Coast” actually is; a large corporation with a parent company that is a global presence in the toy and game market. “Dungeons and Dragons” is a valuable piece of intellectual property and developing a new version is a major project. Those of us that work in the corporate world know that no company will place the future of such a key property in to the hands of a single person. There is a team working on 5th Edition. A team composed of talented and creative people who work diligently to produce a great product. I acknowledge Monte Cook’s tremendous contribution to 3.0 and he likely contributed significantly to the 5th Edition project, but it is not the end of the world that he is gone.
Perhaps his replacement designs the next big thing in RPG gaming. Fresh ideas are never a bad thing.
Mike Mearls also announced the open beta beginning next month for 5th Edition. As an aside, announcing the open beta in the same breath as Monte leaving came across as a crass marketing ploy. “Ooh, do not look at the bad news, here is something shiny to distract you.” For a moment I was vaguely insulted that anyone would think gamers are that dim, but it quickly passed. It was not worth expending the energy to become angry. I notice that some forums carry similar sentiments. Perhaps WOTC will learn something from the experience.
Be back with more after the beta comes out!
Trask, The Last Tyromancer
