tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post3440206197496869262..comments2024-03-24T21:00:25.930-07:00Comments on Daddy Rolled a 1: My Time Working with Wizards of the CoastMartin R. Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672657745232101753noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-72360467141101120202014-07-22T21:53:05.629-07:002014-07-22T21:53:05.629-07:00I know this is a very old post but I am new here s...I know this is a very old post but I am new here so forgive me for chiming in late. I agree with Christopher B when he said:<br /><br />1) Decision by committee, and<br />2) Decision by a single person who really has no business making such decisions<br /><br />But I'll add a third "reason" for failure (in two variants): <br /><br />3A) Decision made by new owners who are clueless about the business they just bought. <br /><br />3B) Decision made by new managers who are clueless about the project they just were put in charge of. <br /><br />Example: Hollywood was forever changed when financial corporations bought all the studios and decided that college kids with degrees in theatre were better at creating films than veteran directors with real world experience. To be fair, sometimes these kids were very good but a lot of excellent old talent was thrown away in the quest for "new".<br /><br />Example #2: The original Renaissance Faire (in Agoura, CA) was bought by a group of investors who completely failed to understand that the strength of the production was the hundreds of volunteers and the devotion they had for making things as historically accurate as practical and having fun while doing it. When the new owners started insisting on making "shopping" more important than recreating the time period or entertaining the crowds, the crowds started to shrink and many volunteers went away. This actually raised the overhead as they had to start hiring professionals to replace the previous "doing-it-for-love" workers. So many of the later Faires that copied the "new" original didn't even try to make their events historically accurate at all. The original Faire used to be filled with laughter and music on every street corner, much of it by spontaneous groups of volunteer actors just enjoying making the crowds smile. Now the most common sound you hear in the streets is merchants hawking their wares. Very sad. Aguy2014https://www.blogger.com/profile/16812288444297563912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-34811964328866969172011-07-22T02:16:45.952-07:002011-07-22T02:16:45.952-07:00I was just popping by and bang, your post here man...I was just popping by and bang, your post here managed to grab my attention and not let go. I am waiting patiently for part 2 though if I had to guess at a problem that occurred it would be you put together a plan that marketed to people who actually played the products but the people in power disagreed with you because they thought it was for younger people.Akhier the Dragon Heartedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01982936563965623813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-24140293996428743952011-07-20T20:11:49.751-07:002011-07-20T20:11:49.751-07:00I must have blocked most of these events from my m...I must have blocked most of these events from my memory. I was there and can barely remember any of it. The only clear memory I have of my WoTC experience is you teaching me how to play Magic and D&D. Guess it's because they were the best things to come out of the experience! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.Malindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08357133086720812794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-55995818669967888352011-07-20T15:49:53.710-07:002011-07-20T15:49:53.710-07:00Glad you all enjoyed it. I'll be working on P...Glad you all enjoyed it. I'll be working on Part 2, but probably wont' get to it until next week. <br /><br />@Brunomac - So, when you're watching Mad Men, you'll see references to an agency called McCann-Erickson. That's where I worked (well, their sister media agency, Universal McCann) prior to leaving the corporate world and starting my own boutique shop. <br /><br />@Christopher B - "decision by committee" is what kills nearly every good idea that's ever been had. A great example is the upcoming Conan movie. I've mentioned this several times on the Grognardia site, because James seems intent on blaming the writer for what a piece of crap that movie looks like it's going to be, but I can assure you that it's not his fault. I know the original screenwriter, and he his a huge Conan fan, and he wrote a screenplay that was based on a actual R.E.H. Conan story. All of that went by the wayside when the corporate studio executives got their hands on it and changed it what they seem to think people want to see.Martin R. Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11672657745232101753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-62271515631083671172011-07-20T06:51:25.779-07:002011-07-20T06:51:25.779-07:00So I guess I won't ad my own "looking for...So I guess I won't ad my own "looking forward to part two" comment, as the others have pretty much covered it. :P<br /><br />As for "<i>how and why sometimes stupid decisions get made in the corporate world</i>," I think it can be distilled down to two main items:<br /><br />1) Decision by committee, and<br />2) Decision by a single person who really has no business making such decisions<br /><br />The culture in my current place of work is such that no single person ever feels empowered to make a decision (due to lack of support from management), so <i>all</i> of them are made by committee. It's frustrating beyond belief to have your professional position repeatedly overruled by others' uninformed opinions. (Your expert opinion only counts here if you've paid a vendor to provide backup. *sigh*) I can't wait to see what sort of business idiocy was involved in your tale.<br /><br />(I guess I slid that "looking forward to" comment in there after all. :P)Christopher Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17368794259249607299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-20329131199508564912011-07-19T20:30:24.001-07:002011-07-19T20:30:24.001-07:00Very revealing. I think we have guessed at this t...Very revealing. I think we have guessed at this type of stuff in the past, but kudos for the article! Engaging material.HitAdjacentAllyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632582325567098655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-59778186756610372422011-07-19T19:05:24.509-07:002011-07-19T19:05:24.509-07:00Wow, not just interesting from a gamer standpoint,...Wow, not just interesting from a gamer standpoint, but I've gotten into Mad Men recently, so advertising stuff is very cool to me right now. Excellent tale.Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-30284283349019610752011-07-19T17:17:36.087-07:002011-07-19T17:17:36.087-07:00What they said. :) Looking forward to the next ins...What they said. :) Looking forward to the next installment.Treyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04647628467658839351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-24486934898280808662011-07-19T16:14:24.560-07:002011-07-19T16:14:24.560-07:00Ditto on part two.Ditto on part two.Digital Orchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00276516390269689741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312698957749576588.post-37797047313194892192011-07-19T14:29:07.098-07:002011-07-19T14:29:07.098-07:00Very interesting. I think we kind of know that the...Very interesting. I think we kind of know that the people behind the scenes are just going to be suits out to make money with little knowledge or regard for what they are selling but a small part of us wishes they were geeks like us. Looking forward to part 2!Fran Terminiellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02506269178716477521noreply@blogger.com