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| So much good and bad.. |
You can find the article here:
http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2015/04/editorial-gw-doesnt-need-to-listen-to-us.html
For those people saying that GW doesn't need to listen to be successful..
I don't agree with this at all. Making a nice, balanced game does not alienate or eliminate the casual/hobby crowd at all. Making a crappy, poorly designed game that cares nothing for balanced gameplay keeps the gamers away. If they only cared about the game they're designing, they would have both parties.
They can start by hiring a community manager or designer with a speciality in balance. Other, more modern game companies such as PP, FFG, Spartan, Hawk, all have designers who are very much intune with the community, the tournament scene, the metagame, and the general health of the game.
Experimental rules is a thing, alpha and beta rules are a thing. PP run testbeds in mini-campaigns all the time to test out rules all the time. GW just lives under a damn rock and have none of these modern ideologies. The community of gamers want to be involved and test out rules and provide feedback (good and bad). There's just no place to do so.
I don't really care though man, not anymore. I've been with GW games for 14 years and they haven't changed, in fact, in some cases they got worse. With their mission statement specifically calling out that they're a collectibles company and not a gaming company, that's just a big spit in the face for all their loyal gamers out there. The second you attach rules to your models, you become a gaming company whether you like it or not. It's up to you to make it better and keep it healthy, and they haven't been doing a good job with that. All the other companies I listed above are running circles around them in terms of rules development and actually knowing what their community wants, because they actually listen, and have taken action to make the game better. They actually understand that making the rules better do nothing for the casual player, the hobbiest or the painter, and that it only affects the player. GW does not, and for that reason, they will never be as successful as they might be.
Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments below.
