General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
So what you are saying is that companies like Paizo, Green Ronin, Necromancers Games and gods know how many other companies have gained less than WotC from the OGL?
I can say without fear of exaggeration that I for one benefited far more from my use of the OGL than WotC did. Not that I benefited a lot, but it was certainly more than my stuff benefited WotC.
__________________ Iain Fyffe
Original member of the Rouseketeers!
I have played 4E. And just like all other editions of D&D, it is awesome!
no one quotes me in sigs - Crothian
For some reason, this doesn't fill me with rage. I must be interwebbing wrong. - Cadfan
They really care? Show me. SHow me their caring. Not Scott's words here. Show me their actions.
How about the very existence of the OGL and GSL? They didn't have to do the OGL with 3E. They didn't have to have the GSL with 4E, they could have just closed it up.
What other major gaming company offers a royalty-free license to allow other publishers to use their trademark? Heck, when Green Ronin started licensing True20, they charged a fee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by carmachu
WOTC's actions show a VERY different picture. THeir constant delay in the GSL orginially, the constant push back, the absoulte hostile license that the GSL was prior to revision and now the delay delay delay of the revision.
If the original GSL is "absoulte" hostile, why is it being used by some companies?
Where does all this anger come from? Between justanobody and carmachu, you'd think WotC ran over their kittens or something.
__________________ Iain Fyffe
Original member of the Rouseketeers!
I have played 4E. And just like all other editions of D&D, it is awesome!
no one quotes me in sigs - Crothian
For some reason, this doesn't fill me with rage. I must be interwebbing wrong. - Cadfan
How about the very existence of the OGL and GSL? They didn't have to do the OGL with 3E. They didn't have to have the GSL with 4E, they could have just closed it up.
What other major gaming company offers a royalty-free license to allow other publishers to use their trademark? Heck, when Green Ronin started licensing True20, they charged a fee.
If the original GSL is "absoulte" hostile, why is it being used by some companies?
Where does all this anger come from? Between justanobody and carmachu, you'd think WotC ran over their kittens or something.
Do you believe they did it for you or for them? They did it because that seemed the best for Wotc at that point. And if they could have closed it up, they would have done it, I am sure (could here is not about legal, but rather about business sense).
Anyway, GSL is far more sensible on its influence to the community than the OGL I think. Who wants to directly support D&D he can directly support D&D and thats just about it (at least so far it seems to work this way).
You're going to have to try that one again. No idea what you mean.
The OGL was created to give a license to all people wanting one to use D&D material for the latest edition of D&D.
The GSL combines bits from the OGL and STL to which you can use the D&D logo wherein the OGL you could not, but in doing so kills 90% of what people liked about the OGL and its functionality.
This fixes some maj0or flaws with the OGL, but by combining those STL components effectively kills what the OGL was meant to do as it no longer applies to the latest edition of D&D as the OGL is not for the latest edition of D&D.
So the GSL[WotC] does effectively kill the OGL as the OGL no longer applies to the latest edition of D&D, but is replaced by the GSL which does not hold the same role as the OGL did.
Paizo would beg to differ with the idea that the OGL is dead.
__________________ Veronica: Where's your brother?
Dick: I think he took Ghost World up to his room. They're probably up there making love. Or playing Dungeons and Dragons. Or both, at the same time. They're both, like, 12th-level dorks. I'm just sayin'
So the GSL[WotC] does effectively kill the OGL as the OGL no longer applies to the latest edition of D&D, but is replaced by the GSL which does not hold the same role as the OGL did.
how does it kill the ogl when pathfinder is based on the ogl and it is in full swing to keep producing products?
__________________ ~Joe
If you like what I said, throw me some XP. I was a goblin sharpshooter for far too long.
Paizo would beg to differ with the idea that the OGL is dead.
I disagree. Paizo is feasting on the legacy of the glorious OGL. If 4e was OGL there would not be such an optimum legacy for them to secure for themselves.
how does it kill the ogl when pathfinder is based on the ogl and it is in full swing to keep producing products?
I was just trying to interpret ideas.
Effectively the sense I am getting is that it takes D&D out of the open gaming movement and enters it into a closed license movement with the GSL. 4th edition pretty much is the only thing ackowledged as D&D by WotC and they are distancing themselves from 3rd and the OGL, and the GSL specifically wants to prevent people from using the OGL so that it can be killed off.
Paizo and a few others just decided not to take the cyanide in the bait trap that the GSL is in that regard.
For me personally? Heck no. Was gamerdom as a whole considered when it was introduced? Probably, given Peter Adkinson's comments. Did it benefit WotC? Probably. No real way for anyone to actually know that, but probably.
__________________ Iain Fyffe
Original member of the Rouseketeers!
I have played 4E. And just like all other editions of D&D, it is awesome!
no one quotes me in sigs - Crothian
For some reason, this doesn't fill me with rage. I must be interwebbing wrong. - Cadfan
For me personally? Heck no. Was gamerdom as a whole considered when it was introduced? Probably, given Peter Adkinson's comments. Did it benefit WotC? Probably. No real way for anyone to actually know that, but probably.
It certainly did benefit D&D's strategic value rise for that time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fifth Element
No, that was the d20 STL. The OGL does not allow use of a WotC-IP logo. The STL did, and the GSL does.
See post above. It seems the logo within the hobby was not more efficient than the rules system to market with.
4th edition pretty much is the only thing ackowledged as D&D by WotC
What does this mean? When has WotC said anything like "3E is not D&D?". They're not messageboard geeks, they don't say things like that. They even refer to "all editions of D&D" (or something like that) on their most recent dungeon tiles product, which implies they know there are other editions of D&D.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justanobody
and the GSL specifically wants to prevent people from using the OGL so that it can be killed off.
The OGL cannot be killed off. It's a license in perpetuity.
The GSL wants nothing. The people who designed the GSL may want something in particular, we have no way of knowing. You can pretend to know, but you really don't.
__________________ Iain Fyffe
Original member of the Rouseketeers!
I have played 4E. And just like all other editions of D&D, it is awesome!
no one quotes me in sigs - Crothian
For some reason, this doesn't fill me with rage. I must be interwebbing wrong. - Cadfan
It seems that for our hobby the actual rules system has more marketing power than a trademark regarding the leading name.
IMHO, I think it's more the reasoning and philosophy behind the rules than the rules themselves that have created a schism amongst the playerbase.
WRT a deadline? WotC had a deadline for the GSL (much like the DI, but that's another topic); the launch of 4E. And it came and went, until, several weeks later, when they brought forth a document that was wildly decried by people who actually wanted to support the current edition of D+D.
Given that we haven't heard much about the GSL since then, and Scott seems to be the only one working on it, I'm going to make the wild hypothesis that a revised GSL isn't a top priority for WotC as a whole.
(As an aside, however, I do commend the Rouse for his hard work & dedication; this seems to be his baby, and it can't be easy being understaffed on manpower, and under the scrutiny of fans 24/7.)
It certainly did benefit D&D's strategic value rise for that time.
There's nothing "certain" about the OGL's benefit to WotC. It's all theory, without any way to know whether the perceived benefits ever materialized. You just can't tell if more PHBs were sold because of the PHB, or if fewer were sold because of the cut & paste SRD. There's no way to know if WotC benefitted on the whole from the OGL.
I have no idea what "D&D's strategic value rise for that time" means.
__________________ Iain Fyffe
Original member of the Rouseketeers!
I have played 4E. And just like all other editions of D&D, it is awesome!
no one quotes me in sigs - Crothian
For some reason, this doesn't fill me with rage. I must be interwebbing wrong. - Cadfan