WOTC wants to know what you like in D&D, what you don't like, and what they should do next.

It's a very long survey. It sometimes asks the same question multiple ways, with slightly different language. It wants to know your preferences for play, for setting, etc..

Give it a whirl.

https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4495590/ddsurvey

I took it.  I was surprised by how much emphasis was placed on the non-TTRPG stuff and that it wasn't assumed that someone filling out the D&D survey was someone who played the TTRPG.

Interesting that they all but repeated several questions, in different orders.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell;1056118Interesting that they all but repeated several questions, in different orders.

It's a statistic sampling thing. They're going to show these results to Goldner after they filter through whichever suit is in charge of "brand blueprinting" D&D.

My guess is that they're trying to figure out what else they can hang off the D&D brand; pillowcases? Video games? Movies? Cartoon show?

... Probably cartoon show. I wonder if they poach Rebecca Sugar? Nothing like doing the D&D cartoon by way of Steven Universe

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Quote from: Azraele;1056120It's a statistic sampling thing. They're going to show these results to Goldner after they filter through whichever suit is in charge of "brand blueprinting" D&D.

In that case, my response they hope to discard as an outlier.  But then, I'm not buying anything they are producing now.  Changing to even less compelling "filler" material can't make me buy less.

Interesting. Its similar to some of their prior surveys.

This one though I noticed several weighted questions. I'd lay good odds someone has an agenda for non-gaming product.

Yeah, lots of questions that had nothing to do with actual play. I'm guessing there's a corporate push to capitalize on the game's prominence in today's zeitgeist to sell products and services that are not about the D&D game itself.

That survey proved to me that WotC sees D&D no longer as a game to be enjoyed, but as a brand to be marketed.

Quote from: jeff37923;1056164That survey proved to me that WotC sees D&D no longer as a game to be enjoyed, but as a brand to be marketed.

We have a winner!

I like 5e D&D, though I haven't played it in a while.  

That survey made my skin crawl.

I took the survey just out of curiosity. It's clearly all about marketing D&D, specifically non-game merchandise. It repeatedly asked questions about my interest (or lack thereof) in branded merchandise being sold in bundles in an online store. It asked me a lot of questions about being a player and very few about being a GM. That was not about the future of D&D, it was about the future of Forgotten Realms t-shirts.

Quote from: jeff37923;1056164That survey proved to me that WotC sees D&D no longer as a game to be enjoyed, but as a brand to be marketed.

I remember when Internet forums were full of references to "T$R" and talk about how all they cared about was making money, not the game. Of course the business as a whole cares about their profit margin. However, a good game benefits all of book sales, merchandise, and brand marketing - so there is some clear correlation, but there are also differences.

Back when D&D profits rode primarily on book sales, the common complaint was that D&D books were being spit out just to get people to buy them like collectors items.

The alternate marketing path is getting people to enjoy D&D a lot without constantly buying books - and instead they use the popularity of the game to sell merchandise, accessories, and licenses.

I think there's trade-offs either way to maximizing the fun of the game for itself.

Quote from: jeff37923;1056164That survey proved to me that WotC sees D&D no longer as a game to be enjoyed, but as a brand to be marketed.

What? You mean that a company actually wants to use their products to make money!? Those bastards - how dare they want to keep their jobs and be profitable! /sarcasm

Quote from: jeff37923;1056164That survey proved to me that WotC sees D&D no longer as a game to be enjoyed, but as a brand to be marketed.

More likely not WOTC as a whole but someone in marketing with an agenda. Or an "idea"... Seen it before. will see it again.

Also it may be just a placebo to use as "proof" for some new harebrained marketing gag. "See See? Our totally legit survey shows that 90% of those survayed answered questions about non-gaming products so we are totally justified putting out these D&D mugs and D&D Hoodies and D&D Toothbrushes because YOU, yes YOU demanded it!"

Quote from: Beldar;1056171I took the survey just out of curiosity. It's clearly all about marketing D&D, specifically non-game merchandise. It repeatedly asked questions about my interest (or lack thereof) in branded merchandise being sold in bundles in an online store. It asked me a lot of questions about being a player and very few about being a GM. That was not about the future of D&D, it was about the future of Forgotten Realms t-shirts.

Weird. I got a series of questions about being a DM? I wonder if it adds more based on the early answers you give?