I’m currently obsessing overthe changes Wizards of the Coast is making to Dungeons & Dragons.
Over the past couple of weeks, Wizards has been revealing how.
In other words, patch notes - it’s been sharing patch notes.
The biggest set I’ve ever seen.
This excites me, and it’s made me realise something else: patch notes have always been exciting.
I’d even go so far as to say they’re one of the most exciting things about games.
And I know how this sounds!
I know bullet-point lists aren’t sexy things.
And if they are for you, well then, let’s talk.
But no - it’s deeper than that.
Patch notes are a widely accepted thing but they’re not that old in console terms.
The game was as it would be forever more.
On PC, this had been happening for longer.
These games are my touchstones, so I’m sure there were others I’ve missed.
But the one that really made me feel the patch-note magic wasDark Age of Camelotin 2001.
I felt the magic because I met the ideal requirements for it.
I had invested hundreds and probably thousands of hours in the game which meant I knew it very well.
And I was somewhat bored.
On some level, I wanted a change.
Patch notes were always exciting.
There in black and white would be listed the future of the game.
Were there new things?
How did they work?
All the clues you needed to form assumptions were there.
What did they mean for you?
You could almost feel the mental energy directed at them - and this without anyone even loading the game.
My brain is doing a similar thing with Dungeons & Dragons now.
Are my characters OK?
Do I want to try something new?
How does it all work?
It kicks up into overdrive.
To me, it’s as much a part of the game as the game itself.
It’s not just about balance changes.
But patch notes introduce significant changes to the worlds we know very well too.
These days, you’ve got the option to broaden the boundaries further into single-player games.
Look at what Larian’s been doingBaldur’s Gate 3.
It changed the ending of the game, elongating it to give some beloved characters more air time.
BioWare changed Mass Effect 3’s ending after the fact as well.
Those are really significant things.
They’re a lot of fun but they’re static.
The enjoyment eventually wears out.
Where they stay alive is in change.
I bet you altered the games you played as kids for the same reason.
It’s the same thing.
None of those are good things.
These are the things we like to think about, our escapes.
And the conduit for it all?
