Trapdoor Technologies is an independent digital book and platform expert that had landed the contract to build the digital toolset to support Dungeons & Dragons 5e.
The decision by Wizards of the Coast to outsource this development made sense. They had struggled with their own tools for D&D 4. The problem seemed to be WotC went at Hasbro speed but without Hasbro resources for the digital team.
This week the new plan seems to have failed. Just days after beta invites for the Android tablet test were sent out the Trapdoor Technologies team announced they were no longer working with Wizards of the Coast. However, it seems the DungeonScape project will live on. A note on the site simply says;
Greetings friends,
Today, we have news that is both sobering and hopeful. Wizards of the Coast and Trapdoor Technologies will no longer be working together to develop DungeonScape for Fifth Edition D&D, and we will not be releasing the product in its current form. The beta program on all platforms will be shutting down at noon (MST) on Friday, October 31.
Although we can’t reveal all of the details regarding the future of DungeonScape, we are happy to say that there is indeed a future—so fear not!
This project, 100% internally funded, conceptualized, and built by our talented team at Trapdoor, has been a labor of love from the very beginning. We set out to change the way RPGs are played at the table—making our game night more about enjoying the adventure than searching for rules. We still hold true to that quest. We believe that our Story Machine™ is a powerful tool for converting information into something more useful and rich.
We’re working hard to solidify the details of what’s next for DungeonScape, and we’ll share that information with you when it’s appropriate.
Until then, please continue to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We’ll do our very best to answer any questions you have through social media or email.
Long live the adventure.
Love,
The Trapdoor Technologies Team
Wizards of the Coast have also commented.
“Wizards of the Coast has ended its relationship with Trapdoor Technologies and their DungeonScape application. If you participated in the beta and have questions regarding the application itself, please contact Trapdoor directly.
It’s never easy to end a relationship with one of our business partners, but we remain committed to creating great tabletop and digital gaming experiences for Dungeons & Dragons players and DMs around the world.”
You can read more at
http://www.trapdoortechnologies.com/dungeonscape/
and
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/news/digital_tools_announcement
What are your thoughts? Strike up a discussion and leave a comment below.
