While I'm waiting for tomorrow's job interview, I've decided to entertain the forums with an april fool's day prediction. This prediction however has a double edge. It may actually happen. If it does occur, the naysayers are the fools. If it doesn't occur, both the writer and the believers are the fools. This should be good for a laugh at least.
In the year 2010 and/or 2011...
Following his success in reaching the top 5 in American Idol, one of the idol finalists (an asian-american :eek:) uses his newly acquired fame to gather reputable game designers to join a recently formed NYC-based company called Pirates of the Coast.
The flagship PotC product is a new d20-based set of game rules that is an innovative amalgam of Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition rules and rules from various other role playing games (this is actually possible under IP law). Proponents of all editions of d20-based gaming hail the system as the vanguard of a new golden age of tabletop gaming.
Pirates of the Coast contacts Square Enix, and gains the license to produce a Final Fantasy themed version of the system's core rulebooks. WotC attempts to compete for the license, but the executives at Square Enix prefer the more adaptive nature of PotC's game rules. Nintendo is next, and the rules are used to create a Pokemon-themed tabletop game. The worlds of Naruto and Harry Potter also become settings for the rules.
The Final Fantasy-themed rulebooks quickly overtake the original core books as the flagship product of Pirates of the Coast. For the very first time, the dominance of Dungeons and Dragons and WotC over the tabletop RPG industry is challenged, in the form of a brand originally inspired by Dungeons and Dragons. Pirates of the Coast even goes so far as to produce painted plastic miniatures products and publish fantasy novels supporting its game product lines.
The fierce competition between WotC and PotC produces better quality writing and design as well as reduced prices for books and supplemental game tools.
The idol contestant makes sure that a portion of the proceeds from all sales of PotC products is donated to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. WotC makes a similar overture to ensure competitive public relations.
PotC is eventually bought by a rival of Hasbro. The flow of donations to the hospital is protected in writing after an exchange of diplomacy and veiled threats.
The publicity of the battles between WotC and PotC attracts millions of new gamers to the hobby, and a new golden age of gaming does indeed arrive.
Gaming has been revitalized and childrens' lives have been saved.
The idol contestant stands on a building roof top and watches the sun set...