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Gambit
Learned Scribe
110 Posts |
 Posted - 09 Jun 2010 : 19:56:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Hmmm.... we're not the only ones thinking on the IP issue. Just saw this seminar being done at GenCon this year:
quote:
Game ID: SEM1014184
Gaming Group/Company:
Title: Intellectual Property Law for Gamers
Description: This one hour seminar will cover the basics of intellectual property law for gamers. Basic copyright, trademark and patent concepts will be discussed as they apply to the gaming industry. The speaker is a partner in a leading intellectual property law firm.
Alas, the 'Con is undo-able for me this year. Anyone going and would be interested in attending this for our benefit?
Unaccpetable Ashe, you need to be there screaming at the panel during the Q&A about the lack of fansite policies. |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3249 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jun 2010 : 21:23:00
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| You have NO idea how hard it was for me not to go. Especially since I had an opportunity to have my badge and hotel paid for by volunteering to run 8+ slots for Pathfinder society... |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Matt James
Forgotten Realms Game Designer
USA
918 Posts |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2010 : 20:41:46
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Originally posted by Markustay
They are clueless when it comes to these niche genres - they think you can sell everything with TV adds, and D&D doesn't work that way - it takes groups of friends and social interaction.
I think it takes both, if you need to meet Hasbro levels of profitability, and they haven't done well at either. When D&D came under Hasbro, the big upside was the prospect that for the first time since the mid-1980s it would be adequately advertised on TV and elsewhere. Public awareness of the name 'Dungeons & Dragons' is high, but knowledge of what RPGs are is low. It's exactly Hasbro's unwillingness to risk that attempt to expand the player base, combined with the high profit demand, that mandated the model we've got of selling many rules supplements targeted at an insular, static or declining market till saturation, declining returns and edition reset, along with, in the latest cycle, downplaying of settings with the narrowing of focus to the perceived single largest group. |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 02:27:33
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I still find myself bewildered Hasbro hasn't used the various materials and licenses under the D&D banner, including iconic monsters, characters, settings, and troupes for non-PnP purposes. The D&D brand is a cultural icon and being 'geek' is in vogue more than it has ever been.
We had a few video games and a pair of derided movies. I really expected many more video games at the least and not just RPGs. I thought Hasbro would push for more games like Demonstone that tap into the mainstream video gaming market with the more action oriented style.
I expected a new cartoon show by now at the least, something that's basically a half hour commercial for the D&D brand. Hasbro has the capability and connections to make it happen given their toy line franchises. I thought Hasbro would have seen D&D less as solely a pen and paper franchise with a limited fan-base but as a brand generator. They would make money on the entertainment side of D&D leaving the RPG portion as a quaint legacy aspect of the greater D&D brand.
We've seen the same with comic books. The actual publications are not a very profitable portion of the franchise, but they've created well known characters and stories which have entered the collective pop culture consciousness. These iconic characters and troupes are exploited constantly in an endless stream of video games, movies, tv shows, books, board games, action figures and other merchandising. |
Edited by - Dark Wizard on 18 Jun 2010 02:29:06 |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4469 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 03:38:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Dark Wizard
I still find myself bewildered Hasbro hasn't used the various materials and licenses under the D&D banner, including iconic monsters, characters, settings, and troupes for non-PnP purposes. The D&D brand is a cultural icon and being 'geek' is in vogue more than it has ever been.
I totally agree with you. They really need to expand on their base and what they can associate with D&D.
quote:
Originally posted by Dark Wizard
We had a few video games and a pair of derided movies. I really expected many more video games at the least and not just RPGs. I thought Hasbro would push for more games like Demonstone that tap into the mainstream video gaming market with the more action oriented style.
For what it's worth, I rather enjoyed the second D&D movie. The fact that it was a SciFi movie and still better than the original shows just how bad the first one was. Pretty much nothing good came from the original movie except the dwarf. I sorta liked his style. Other than that, blech! And as for video games, there was also the D&D: Heroes that I had for X-Box which was pretty enjoyable as well as the two Baldur's Gate games for the same consol. Too bad, I can't get a copy of the sequal, which generally sells for $50+ on Amazon.com :( .
quote:
Originally posted by Dark Wizard
I expected a new cartoon show by now at the least, something that's basically a half hour commercial for the D&D brand. Hasbro has the capability and connections to make it happen given their toy line franchises. I thought Hasbro would have seen D&D less as solely a pen and paper franchise with a limited fan-base but as a brand generator. They would make money on the entertainment side of D&D leaving the RPG portion as a quaint legacy aspect of the greater D&D brand.
Yea, I'd love to see a D&D cartoon or animated series akin to Star Wars: Clone Wars or Avatar: The Last Airbender artistic wise. But don't get me started on the Dragonlance animated movie.....it was bad.
quote:
Originally posted by Dark Wizard
We've seen the same with comic books. The actual publications are not a very profitable portion of the franchise, but they've created well known characters and stories which have entered the collective pop culture consciousness. These iconic characters and troupes are exploited constantly in an endless stream of video games, movies, tv shows, books, board games, action figures and other merchandising.
Well there were the Drizzt comics that came out from Devil's Due along with the Dragonlance comics from the same name. And comics form a good story-board to jump start movies.
All in all, while Hasbro has dropped the ball in expanding the franchise, I think they need more time to fully realize the potential. And we can only hope, pray, and talk with our wallets and voices. |
Diffan's NPG Generator: FR NPC Generator |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3249 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 04:48:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
For what it's worth, I rather enjoyed the second D&D movie. The fact that it was a SciFi movie and still better than the original shows just how bad the first one was. Pretty much nothing good came from the original movie except the dwarf. I sorta liked his style. Other than that, blech! And as for video games, there was also the D&D: Heroes that I had for X-Box which was pretty enjoyable as well as the two Baldur's Gate games for the same consol. Too bad, I can't get a copy of the sequal, which generally sells for $50+ on Amazon.com :( .
Two things on the dwarf:
1) He's Jerry's Uncle Leo from Seinfeld.
2) The ONLY scene in the movie where they say his name was edited out.
If you get a change, rent the DVD of the first move with the special features. You'll see that a LOT got chopped to the editing room floor, including:
A) A scene where Ridley and Marina got "sucked in" to the map they had, discovering a pocket dimension with a genie and a riddle.
B) The reason Ridley was against Magic-users was because his father was an Artificer type that got his livelihood taken away for creating a magical horse-less carriage, but since he was a "registered wizard", the council of mages came down on him.
C) Theories that Snails was half-elven (reason he wore the hat that covered his ears).
Still, the movie flopped, but I give it props for trying. Heck, name any other movie (besides Big Trouble in Little China) that has a Beholder in it? |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 09:16:43
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| I'd say that when you look at how they behaved in the D&D movie "Big Trouble..." is still the only movie to have a beholder in it. |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2010 : 12:21:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase
I'd say that when you look at how they behaved in the D&D movie "Big Trouble..." is still the only movie to have a beholder in it.
Didn't see that movie...I do remember the guys in the D&D movie (while it was just my brother and I in the theater watching it) being scared of the beholder. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Faraer
Great Reader
3308 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2010 : 01:30:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Dark Wizard
I still find myself bewildered Hasbro hasn't used the various materials and licenses under the D&D banner, including iconic monsters, characters, settings, and troupes for non-PnP purposes.
The absorption of D&D ideas, images and assumptions into 'mainstream culture' -- big-money films and video games -- has made turning that content into money more problematic now it doesn't have the novelty it did 25 years ago. This is presumably a factor in Wizards' attempts to 'update' the D&D imagery, at the risk that accommodating it to cultural trends erodes what's distinctly valuable about it.
Here's a relevant article about Games Workshop's business. |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2010 : 02:16:05
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Novelty hasn't been a dominating aspect of mainstream culture for a while now, what with all the nostalgia properties and remakes being exploited in big budget movies and games. With the proper marketing D&D's progenitor status could even be used to promote the brand. The D&D property also has many copyrighted aspects that other franchises haven't touched on.
One difficulty to overcome is quality. The Infinity engine games are still legendary amongst CRPG fans old enough to have played them. The NWN games have maintained some visibility for D&D on the video/computer gaming arena. Many players and fans note how the CRPGs got them into D&D in the first place.
However, many other D&D based games have come and gone, barely making a splash in an already crowded market. Though the same is true of other big media franchises. D&D style fantasy is a dime a dozen, but few make a big impression.
Edit: I did find the second D&D movie watchable. It was decent for a low budget TV movie shown on the SyFy channel. It seemed like the crew made a decent attempt to channel D&D-ness into the movie. I could do without Damodar again.
I'm still shocked by the poor quality of the Dragonlance animated movie, everything from the choppy, poorly drawn, and inconsistently styled animation, to the mismatch CGI dragons, to the odd choices for adaptation. It seemed like they were doing too much with far too little budget and time. |
Edited by - Dark Wizard on 21 Jun 2010 02:27:47 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31799 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2010 : 02:34:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Dark Wizard
I'm still shocked by the poor quality of the Dragonlance animated movie, everything from the choppy, poorly drawn, and inconsistently styled animation, to the mismatch CGI dragons, to the odd choices for adaptation. It seemed like they were doing too much with far too little budget and time.
Besides all that, though, I did applaud some of the casting for voice actors of certain characters. |
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
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Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2010 : 03:52:04
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Dark Wizard
I'm still shocked by the poor quality of the Dragonlance animated movie, everything from the choppy, poorly drawn, and inconsistently styled animation, to the mismatch CGI dragons, to the odd choices for adaptation. It seemed like they were doing too much with far too little budget and time.
Besides all that, though, I did applaud some of the casting for voice actors of certain characters.
I agree. It shows what could have been if the entire project was given as much attention as the voice casting had been. However, my initial impression was that a few of the voice felt phoned in for the paycheck. It might have been the direction and poor syncing on the animator's part. |
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What happened to Open ,Free and Spirited Debate?
