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Green Ronin not signing GSL (Forked Thread: Doing the GSL. Who?)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nikchick" data-source="post: 4383601" data-attributes="member: 344"><p>I know Pramas usually posts here as the voice of Green Ronin but I find myself with a few things to offer today, if just for a little clarification. </p><p></p><p>Green Ronin was formed in early 2000 and our first product <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/catalog/grr1001" target="_blank">Ork! the Roleplaying Game</a> was released in June of that year. We shortly thereafter decided to dabble in this "d20 thing" by planning out a couple adventures, adventures that went on to become <strong>the Freeport Trilogy</strong>, but when we made that decision the OGL and the d20 STL were completely untested. Make no mistake, we certainly benefited from the license and will never deny the impact that d20 had on the direction of our company but I think it's quite overstating the case to claim that we "wouldn't exist if not for the OGL." </p><p></p><p>Green Ronin's founders had more than 35 years of combined experience in the game industry when we formed the company, experience not only in roleplaying games but also cards, miniatures, magazines, board games, and more. Due to the enthusiastically favorable response to our d20 dabbling, you could say we were "distracted" from some of our other possible projects for a while but we did continue to work on other things, even during the height of the demand for d20 material. <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr1010&Category_Code=rpgs" target="_blank">The Spaceship Zero</a> Roleplaying Game and <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr3201&Category_Code=stand-alone" target="_blank">Faery's Tale Deluxe</a>, the <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr3001&Category_Code=11" target="_blank">Torches & Pitchforks card game</a> and the <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr3006&Category_Code=11" target="_blank">Walk the Plank</a> card game, map books like <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr1029&Category_Code=maps" target="_blank">Dungeons of Doom</a> and <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr1021&Category_Code=stand-alone" target="_blank">Cartographica</a>, or our recent non-fiction hit <a href="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr4001&Category_Code=stand-alone" target="_blank">Hobby Games: the 100 Best</a>. We've always had our fingers in things other than d20 products.</p><p></p><p>I've often seen people talk about how third party publishers failed to support WotC or D&D, something I think Charles Ryan first floated here on EN World back when he was still the D&D Brand Manager. Green Ronin published almost 100 straight-up d20/D&D support products without counting support for d20 Modern or D20 Future. My feeling is that WotC's expectation that unrestricted numbers of third party support companies could continue to endlessly support straight-up D&D in the face of the product glut and unending direct competition was unrealistic. The market was demanding more and WotC themselves were not filling those holes; it's utterly predictable that companies would expand out to fill those niches and strive to create products to meet fan demand (as well as differentiate themselves from their competition). That was no more a "betrayal" than WotC designing a new edition of D&D... it's the natural course of business.</p><p></p><p>While we are mindful of the role the OGL played in the development of Green Ronin, I personally don't feel we "owe our success" to it. We helped manufacture support for WotC's business according to the plan they offered and by doing so we received exposure for our company; it was a mutually beneficial relationship. Our <em>success</em>, on the other hand, was not granted to us from on high by Wizards of the Coast or any other Powers That Be. We competed, we worked hard, we made mistakes on some things and chose wisely on others and earned our success through our efforts. In the far less mutually beneficial climate of 4th Edition and the GSL, I am confident that we will continue to produce excellent work and find an audience for it, starting with <a href="http://greenronin.com/sifrp/" target="_blank">A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying</a> and any number of things beyond.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nikchick, post: 4383601, member: 344"] I know Pramas usually posts here as the voice of Green Ronin but I find myself with a few things to offer today, if just for a little clarification. Green Ronin was formed in early 2000 and our first product [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/catalog/grr1001"]Ork! the Roleplaying Game[/URL] was released in June of that year. We shortly thereafter decided to dabble in this "d20 thing" by planning out a couple adventures, adventures that went on to become [B]the Freeport Trilogy[/B], but when we made that decision the OGL and the d20 STL were completely untested. Make no mistake, we certainly benefited from the license and will never deny the impact that d20 had on the direction of our company but I think it's quite overstating the case to claim that we "wouldn't exist if not for the OGL." Green Ronin's founders had more than 35 years of combined experience in the game industry when we formed the company, experience not only in roleplaying games but also cards, miniatures, magazines, board games, and more. Due to the enthusiastically favorable response to our d20 dabbling, you could say we were "distracted" from some of our other possible projects for a while but we did continue to work on other things, even during the height of the demand for d20 material. [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr1010&Category_Code=rpgs"]The Spaceship Zero[/URL] Roleplaying Game and [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr3201&Category_Code=stand-alone"]Faery's Tale Deluxe[/URL], the [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr3001&Category_Code=11"]Torches & Pitchforks card game[/URL] and the [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr3006&Category_Code=11"]Walk the Plank[/URL] card game, map books like [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr1029&Category_Code=maps"]Dungeons of Doom[/URL] and [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr1021&Category_Code=stand-alone"]Cartographica[/URL], or our recent non-fiction hit [URL="http://www.greenronin.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=grr4001&Category_Code=stand-alone"]Hobby Games: the 100 Best[/URL]. We've always had our fingers in things other than d20 products. I've often seen people talk about how third party publishers failed to support WotC or D&D, something I think Charles Ryan first floated here on EN World back when he was still the D&D Brand Manager. Green Ronin published almost 100 straight-up d20/D&D support products without counting support for d20 Modern or D20 Future. My feeling is that WotC's expectation that unrestricted numbers of third party support companies could continue to endlessly support straight-up D&D in the face of the product glut and unending direct competition was unrealistic. The market was demanding more and WotC themselves were not filling those holes; it's utterly predictable that companies would expand out to fill those niches and strive to create products to meet fan demand (as well as differentiate themselves from their competition). That was no more a "betrayal" than WotC designing a new edition of D&D... it's the natural course of business. While we are mindful of the role the OGL played in the development of Green Ronin, I personally don't feel we "owe our success" to it. We helped manufacture support for WotC's business according to the plan they offered and by doing so we received exposure for our company; it was a mutually beneficial relationship. Our [I]success[/I], on the other hand, was not granted to us from on high by Wizards of the Coast or any other Powers That Be. We competed, we worked hard, we made mistakes on some things and chose wisely on others and earned our success through our efforts. In the far less mutually beneficial climate of 4th Edition and the GSL, I am confident that we will continue to produce excellent work and find an audience for it, starting with [URL="http://greenronin.com/sifrp/"]A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying[/URL] and any number of things beyond. [/QUOTE]
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