This bus is so cool! I wish my station wagon was painted like this!
I found these photos here and here.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
WotC Recycles Classic Trampier Art - ON A BUS MURAL!! AMAZING!!
Wizards of the Coast is really pushing this whole old school aesthetic thing to a whole new level. First there was the Red Box, now we have the D&D Bus! It has classic art by Trampier, Sutherland, Elmore, and Otus plastered all over it. There's even some graph paper imagery. Check out how Trampier's original cover illustration for the Village of Hommlet module is the central piece on one side of the bus, and his Player's Handbook demon idol is central on the other side. Also note the fake 70s van window painted near the back on the Hommlet side. Nice touch! Maybe they saw my earlier post on the topic...?
This bus is so cool! I wish my station wagon was painted like this!
I found these photos here and here.
This bus is so cool! I wish my station wagon was painted like this!
I found these photos here and here.
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That is both cool and frightening at the same time, such is life...
ReplyDeleteWTF! Is this like the traveling D&D show or what? I hope they're coming to my town.
ReplyDelete@Chris Creel: Any bus with Dave Trampier and Erol Otus on it is instantly cool in my book! The illustration on the front would indeed be frightening though, especially if you were standing in front of the bus while it was moving.
ReplyDelete@Paladin: I think the bus debuted at the PAX con in Seattle this last weekend. I'm not sure what the function of the bus is - maybe it's WotC's tour vehicle for schlepping their display around to various cons...?
WotC is very confusing to me. While their D&D game gets further and further away from the original, their aesthetic is taking this dramatic retro turn... Very strange...
Now all it needs is a group of dice-rolling Merry Pranksters driving cross country...
ReplyDeleteSame art they used as an April Fool's joke a couple years back. Not that they were necessarily making fun of the art then, but they do seem to consider it the go-to old school art for D-n-D. I'm glad they're finally getting the art right - now if we could just convince them to take a couple steps back on the rules ...
ReplyDeletelol I wonder what old Dave would think if he saw this from his cab.
ReplyDeleteJust more of the same capitalizing on nostalgia that's evidenced with the re-issue of the "red box".. Even my grognard bashing, 4e playing friend admits it. Lots of companies do it.
What I don't get is why they don't just keep publishing the old versions. TSR sold OD&D at the same time that they sold B/X and AD&D. Hasbro has been selling the same old board games that they have for decades - why not WoTC? If the bottom line is the dollar, then what's the big deal?
On the other hand, if their plan is to keep you paying by getting you accommodated to a system that requires you to keep buying rules revisions, then this lock down of the old stuff makes sense.
Or is it just a question of corporate vanity?
Its a matter of vanity basically, the people at WotC really do believe that 4E is the successor to the D&D tradition and they want to convert people's opinions to their own by integrating the look of old-school D&D products into their upcoming products.
ReplyDeleteIts the opposite of the Forge concept of "System matters". For WotC, looks, not the system mechanics, is what matters. People get hooked on the imagery and buy their products.
Can't blame them because that's exactly the premise that made Magic(tm) the success that it was. Hopefully, people who prefer different system mechanics will drift away from 4E to other rpg products that are available in the market today. Considering that WotC has the marketing clout to make its concept work, smaller rpg product makers can at least hope that the rising 4E tide will raise all rpg boats. Que sera, sera.
Dude, I am 75% sure I am hallucinating this post. Lareth rfrom Hommlet on a bus? No way!
ReplyDeleteI think the bus is amazing and I don't begrudge their hijacking of the classic aesthetic (much) if they do something this truly cool with it. At the same time I've gotta wonder how much that bus art co$t while I'm reading through a forum thread about all the errata already being posted on the Red Box. What costs more, a sweet painted promotional bus or paying people/taking time to get something right before it goes to print?
ReplyDeleteYep, they're using the art on their website to pimp the new 4E Red Box. (Click the links once you get there to see how it's used on all 3 pages.)
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I think this is an amazing use of the old art. If only they hired new artists to illustrate in a similar style, it would make for a wonderful refresh.
"Dude, I am 75% sure I am hallucinating this post."
ReplyDeleteI lol'd.
Can I buy your Magic Bus?
ReplyDelete@Jay: Yeah, I noticted the Erol Otus and Dave Trampier art on the WotC website too. Another interesting thing is the panel at the bottom right of their page self consciously trumpeting "Design Manager" James Wyatt's 1970s old school D&D credibility. Very interesting...
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, if I was a lapsed 30/40-something gamer curious about getting back into D&D I would probably be out buying one of the new Red Boxes right now. A lot of this imagery is so distinctive and permanently etched into my generation's collective mind it makes a lot of sense to exploit it to $ell $tuff. I feel kind of sorry for the returning gamers when they open their Red Boxes to find a fiddly miniatures combat game instead of the brilliant fantasy roleplaying game they remember...
Confused...emotions fighting each other...hoora..aww sh...!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe real surprise is inside where Bargle the bus driver and his two stewardesses, Aleena & Morgan, take everyone on a fantasy trip..dripping from a dead dog's eye!
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ReplyDeleteName a date and time, and I will surely paint the side of your station wagon.
ReplyDeleteI for one am glad the retro-graphics are coming back... it makes my copies of "Vault of the Drow" and "Tomb of Horrors" look positively "hip". Collectibility +25%
If they are having a cross country geek fest where do I sign up ,,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt, Quit screwing with the rules and then and get back to creating good stories,,, the game is about the group, and telling an interesting and exciting story for the players, the mechanics simply don't matter that much if the theses requirements are filled.