Ron Edwards introduced GNS theory in 1999, upon co-founding the Forge with Ed Healy. Healy's presence on The Forge was more behind-the-scenes compared to Ron Edwards, who was the more prominent public face of the site. Healy was instrumental in setting up the technical and organizational aspects of the website, enabling it to become a pivotal platform for independent RPG designers. While he did contribute to discussions, his role was focused on facilitating and maintaining the community infrastructure.
After The Forge, Healy went on to pursue various projects. He became well-known for his work with the gaming company, Gamerati, which focused on marketing, news and support for the gaming community. I simply wasn't able to find any information of Healy stating if GNS Theory affected his thinking or not; certainly, Gamerati didn't focus on game design. I include this note because it was missed in the previous post.
GNS Theory was officially published in 2003 by Edwards himself ... but while it inspired quite a lot of discussion online, it did not seem to influence the thinking of James Slavicsek, Rob Heinsoo, James Wyatt or Mike Mearls, the standouts among the design team who began 4th edition's development in earnest, around 2005. Reading Heinsoo's articles at Pelgrane Press, he's quite the fanboy; seeing this video, it's hard to imagine anyone putting a multi-millon dollar property into his hands ... but of course, this could all be a posture he adopts for the fan boys. Slavicsek described Heinsoo as "our mad genius" in an interview in Kobald Quarterly #5; in the same article, he describes James Wyatt as "the storyteller" and himself as "the stat junkie."
The same article (I think; it's hard to tell) makes a case for the design team pretty much throwing a lot of shit at the walls, no doubt thinking they knew what they were doing, but of course we know now that 4th edition was such a disaster that the company had to abandon it in just six years (from 2008 to 2014); which is, from a company standpoint, a disaster. Such a rapid replacement of a major product, based on dissatisfaction from the fan base, reflects a serious misalignment between the product and the customer needs. The failure of 4th edition terrified the company, forcing them to go to the fans to avoid another like fuck-up ... though, as I'll argue, they were unable to do anything except replace 4th with another fuck-up. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Without direct evidence, it's probable that 4th edition's designers were merely attempting to conform with broader trends and principles in game design, rather than any sort of direct embrace with GNS theory. By the mid-2000s, a great mass of information was floating around as table top gaming evolved.
Nonetheless, however the team got them, there are a few coincidences that are worth noting. 4th edition places a strong emphasis on creating balanced and tactical combat mechanics. This was added to ensure that players enjoying "strategic challenges" and competitive play (gamists) would yet find the game rewarding. The introduction of a standardised set of powers and abilities for all the classes was a move towards that.
And although it was criticised for being too mechanically focused, 4th edition does include tools and guidelines that support storytelling. DMs are given frameworks and advice for crafting engaging narratives (it's very, very clumsy advice, but the push is clearly there), officially promoting the argument for many players that the game ought to be about storytelling and character development (narrativists). And, 4th paid a fair bit of lip service towards the ideal of creating a cohesive and immersive game world, providing settings and materials that helped maintain the game's internal logic. "Points of Light" established a world where small pockets of civilization existed amidst vast, dangerous wilderness. ''Core World" provided a shared world-building framework that DMs could use as a foundation for their campaigns, including details on geography, cosmology, history, and cultures. 4th edition provided detailed descriptions of monster backgrounds, the logic of how magic worked and how different planes interacted with the material world. All this was catered to that specific player who wanted an immersive experience (simulationists).
Whether they meant to or not, the designers ended up with a shotgun approach to game design, addressing a wide array of player needs and preferences. By struggling to appeal to everyone, and in doing so, it heightened the divisiveness between different player factions.
The result was a mess, due to its overemphasis on combat mechanics, which made the game feel more like a tactical exercise than a role-playing experience. This focus alienated players who preferred the narrative and immersive aspects of earlier editions. The significant changes to core mechanics and the introduction of video game-like powers led to a loss of the traditional D&D feel, which frustrated long-time players. Additionally, the complexity and learning curve of the new rules added to the dissatisfaction, making it harder for some players to engage with the game. Despite its ambitious goals, the attempt to cater to diverse player preferences resulted in a divisive and often criticized edition.
The gamists were alienated by the attention given to narrative depth and immersive world-building; those who wanted storytelling and simulation despised the structured combat system, which in turn led to a serious push back against ANY kind of structure when these same people were requested to give their opinions on an upcoming 5th edition.
We must argue that none of this is Edwards fault. Most likely, Edards merely identified and articulated the different factions as they were forming right in front of him in the 1990s. He didn't create the divisions, he merely highlighted them, offering a positive perspective that understanding these differences could lead to better game design.
But to be clear, he wasn't all that forward thinking, either. He didn't see his categories AS divisions. He may have articulated the divisions as ideals, but he oversimplified the underlying dynamics and missed the antagonistic nature of these factions. Players did not merely wish to play the game differently, it became evident in the next ten years that they were actively opposed to how others played the game. Each would strive to reshape the game to fit their ideals, and very definitely at the expense of other play styles. This became brutally apparent with the negotiations surrounding 5th edition. The company's choice to embrace community involvement in the way it did was unprecedented. The D&D Next playtest invited players from all over the world to contribute their ideas, preferences and critiques. Thinking they could unify the disparate factions, the company instead encountered deeply entrenched groups that each had their vision of what D&D should be, with these visions generally being in direct opposition to one another. As feedback rolled in, it became clear that reconciling these diverse play styles would be fucking impossible ... at least, for the level of genius functioning at the WOTC then as now.
According to the company's rhetoric, it decided to implement a "modular approach," allowing Dungeon Masters to tailor the rules to fit their group's preferences. This meant including optional rules and guidelines that could be adopted or ignored based on the play style of each group. By doing so, they aimed to offer a core system that was broad and adaptable enough to accommodate different styles of play without forcing a one-size-fits-all solution.
In reality, the company made a pragmatic decision. It chose a core system that would appeal to the largest faction. Those not picked were sidelined and, as best as the company could without committing itself, thrown some bones to keep them quiet. The priority, as with any company, was to ensure the commercial success and broad appeal of the new edition, primarily tailored the core mechanics and gameplay elements to suit that faction of players that represented, as the company saw it, the greatest number. The company has, as such, put all its eggs in one basket, committed to a game design philosophy that prioritizes narrative flexibility, character development, and the "rule of cool." This has effectively sent a message that if some players don't like the new direction, they should find another game to play.
This has led to a kind of exodus, where mechanics-focused players seek out other RPG systems that better align with their play style, or they revert to earlier editions of D&D that better satisfy their preferences. The expectation for these players to "just go away" manifests in the lack of support and development for more mechanics-intensive content within the current edition. Consequently, the game has become less inclusive of diverse play styles, favoring a homogeneous approach that prioritizes the narrative-driven experience.
The approach has caused problems for the company. The exodus of mechanics-focused players has contributed to dissatisfaction within the community, and the company has struggled to balance the diverse needs of its player base. The dissatisfaction has led to discussions and even grumblings about the need for a new edition that might better address the varying preferences and bring back the players who felt alienated by the fifth edition's direction. This is evident in the choice of calling said new edition, "One D&D."
This is supposed to unify the game's rules and experience across different platforms and play styles. Sound familiar? And, predictably, the initiative has encountered several challenges and criticisms, reflecting the complexity of trying to unify such a diverse player base under a single system. The initiative has indeed faced difficulties, some of which stem from the inherent tensions between different player factions and the ambitious goals set by the company.
One disaster has been the push for digital integration and the expansion of online tools have been met with mixed reactions. While some players appreciate the convenience and modernization these tools offer, others are concerned about the potential loss of the traditional tabletop experience. Issues such as software bugs, accessibility, and the potential for increased costs associated with digital content have also raised concerns. Mostly, it's seen as a cash grab by the company, without actually offering any benefit to the game that's worth the money.
The iterative nature of the playtesting and feedback process has exposed further difficulties. While the open playtesting aims to be inclusive and responsive to player input, it has also led to same disagreements and frustration that existed 12 years ago, that the company has never practically addressed in any manner. "Just go away" basically has the ring of, "Surely, after 12 years, they'll have all left by now." Instead, the dissatisfied players are still here, still angry about what they think matters and still identifying the larger portion of the company's supporters as the enemy.
Meanwhile, everyone ever connected to that part of the company that could have supported the gamists and the simulationists (though it seems really stupid to keep using these terms) are long gone, having either quit or conformed to company policy. There is no future, in short. What we have are three different games, not one game.
The company's insistence, more than 30 years old now, on using "D&D" as a recognisable name, has crippled it's ability to just making another game for people who want a different game. In 1992, after 2nd edition failed to make the dent desired, the company should have had faith in itself and invented the "Adventure Story" game, or some such, and driven a new product to eventually become more popular than old Dungeons and Dragons. Instead, afraid to dig in and do the work, they've made such a fuck-up of the landscape that they'll never get out from under.
So, not Edwards fault. In fact, it just shows that Edwards was another in a long line of poorly educated and highly overrated game designers, who were fed money and respect for being "stat junkies" and "mad scientists" rather than PROFESSIONALS, whom the company should have hired.
A lot of money was involved. Educated thinking was not.
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