How soon is too soon to publish a Second Edition of a role-playing title?
No, we aren't doing this yet. Hell, yours truly has just gotten back to doing anything game related at all, much less tackling a major do-over. But as we (maybe) begin breaking established molds all over the place, we can't help but reflect a bit. We've been doing this for four years. It's been a learning curve. But with time comes experience. And with practice comes improvement. And not just in the design department...
So when does it make sense to re-consolidate an existing set of rules into a better, more coherent package and apply lessons learned? Or improve its production?
Is a Second Edition seen as a giant middle finger to the people who've already shelled out for the previous version? Or a cynical ploy to get the buyer's money twice? Now I'm not implying anyone is doing this. My question is somewhat rhetorical because I could actually see the need for a fifth Edition D&D after the badly contrived 4th....
Much as I could see the need for a 2nd Edition AD&D, or pretty much any edition of my beloved Tunnels & Trolls. Time makes rules better, and experience (and revenue) makes it easier to improve the physical (read: production) value of a given product.
So, for a little historical perspective...
OD&D to AD&D - five years (from the initial boxed release to publication of the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide, which made AD&D a complete system)
AD&D to 2nd Edition AD&D - ten years (calculating from 1979 to 1989)
2nd Edition to 3rd - eleven years (from 1989 to 2000)
Initially, you see a retooling of the original into a more coherent package. And when you really think about it, AD&D was really was just a cleaned-up (and better organized) version of the booklets and their supplements. Indeed, there was actually a three-year overlap...
After that, each new edition was given ample time to marinate at the tables of a thousand enthusiastic gamers. Except for grumpy old holdouts like myself, obviously!
So when is the time "right" for a new edition? I suspect it's when the game would really benefit from a little reconsolidation. And I've seen it pulled off nicely across many different systems, so I guess I know. But the mind wanders after a long break. Especially when thinking about the future of your favorite projects. Well, this blog has a future for sure, even if only as a monthly post. And we'll try to make it worth your time to drop in and visit...