Mearls' Latest Thought on the Industry

[UniversalMonster]

It might be hard for Mearls to do an Open Source wiki himself right now, because he is very busy, plus he is now an official WOTC guy. But a long time ago, before he was a 'name' he did release a lot of stuff for free- I think my favorite thing he did was called 'Seize them'- which was kind of a game about being a lackey for a supervillian. This was late 1990s sometime. I was thinking about it lately because I have been playing the heck out of City of Villians.

ANYHOW, I do agree that more people should make their creative work available online as open source. I used to do it myself- even before there was d20-- I would make up monsters and maps and spells and stuff for Torg or Beyond the Supernatural or whatever we were playing at the time.. and just post it on my website, and very often I got all kinds of positive feedback for it.. I think it's kind of a cool sub-hobby of RPGs. More people should definitely do this. Let a thousand ideas flourish... You will get some feedback, usually- some random person may drop by or link to it or send you a nice email. It's fun stuff. By the time D&D came out I was kind of out of it, but the modular nature of d20 is great for this. You don't have to develop a whole setting, you can just make up a feat or a magic item or something. Fun stuff.

I did a (fairly poor) conversion of the Sha'ir class, and some monster classes at one point. I used to really have fun with that. Yeah, more people should do that. I don't buy PDFs in general, but I will look at open source stuff (here and elsewhere).

Now I just don't like editing webpages so much.

 

[philreed]

Mearls' point is everyone selling their ideas instead of sharing them is counter to an open source movement. He's absolutely on target.

Does this mean that Wizards needs to start releasing all new material on the web -- for free -- before going to print? That way the innovation can take place.

Or maybe they'll just start including OGC in all releases.

 

[philreed]

It might be hard for Mearls to do an Open Source wiki himself right now, because he is very busy, plus he is now an official WOTC guy.

The implication being that the rest of us have a lot of time on our hands and aren't busy at all. I assure you that I am busy.

But a long time ago, before he was a 'name' he did release a lot of stuff for free- I think my favorite thing he did was called 'Seize them'- which was kind of a game about being a lackey for a supervillian.

This is a common way for an author to build a "name" and nothing unique. Many people working in the RPG industry have released material for free.

I think the most important point is that Mike Mearls continues to push for things that will have no impact on his day job. When he was working for Malhavoc, and seeing his work released in PDF, he wasn't saying that PDFs were harming innovation.

Now Mike Mearls is a talented designer and I respect him. That said, I think (and each month brings new evidence to support my thoughts) that D&D -- as a pen & paper game -- isn't doing anywhere near as well as WotC claims. Promoting the idea that PDFs harm the industry, and that an OGC Wiki is necessary, is easy when it will have no negative impact on your day job.

EDIT: Stupid typo.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

The reason Copyright (and Patent) laws were created was the principal that if innovative people could make a living “making stuff up” then they would produce more. The limitation to this theory is that it creates a form of monopoly on ideas, which limits collaboration, sharing, and improvement.

If anyone come up with a better plan then I hope they make it Open Source so we can all benefit.

 

[Belen]

I have to agree with Mearls. PDF publishing has largely had a net negative effect on things. It has further divided the small fan base and provided direct competition to the smaller publishers. It has taken away money that would have gone to support the industry without really providing a benefit to the industry.

For instance, we did the latest "PDF" convince a 10 year old that he wanted to join the hobby. I would say about never. The kid, sans credit card, cannot see that PDF on the shelf, get inspired and ask mom to buy it for them.

PDFs have contributed to the small print runs that we have seen with the industry and further marginialized the smaller print companies. It has sucked innovation out of the market and caused those smaller publishers to defend themselves by printing retreads and licensed material.

The PDF industry caters to the 30 year old internet savvy gamer. It does nothing to improve or help grow the hobby. It's just a tool for grognards and may maintain the current generation, but it sure as hell will not promote the next.

 

[philreed]

The PDF industry caters to the 30 year old internet savvy gamer. It does nothing to improve or help grow the hobby. It's just a tool for grognards and may maintain the current generation, but it sure as hell will not promote the next.

I disagree. The next generation is going to be symbiotic with the internet and, with things like downloadable music and television shows, will expect that all entertainment is downloadable.

I think we'll see the PDF industry grow to rival the print industry over the next 5 to 10 years.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

It's worth pointing out (for those who didn't go to Mike's site) that this paragraph is headlined "Here was my original thought."

This implies a process that is not finished. It also implies that the thought is offered for the purpose of generating discussion.

For myself, I can see the argument, but I'm not convinced that it's right. The avalanche of PDF's out there can mean that a good idea is buried under a mound of regurgitated OGC. But that's the nature of the beast and I don't think much can be done to change it, even if changing were a good thing.

 

[Belen]

I think the most important point is that Mike Mearls continues to push for things that will have no impact on his day job. When he was working for Malhavoc, and seeing his work released in PDF, he wasn't saying that PDFs were harming innovation.

Now Mike Mearls is a talented designer and I respect him. That said, I think (and each month brings new evidence to support my thoughts) that D&D -- as a pen & paper game -- isn't doing anywhere near as well as WotC claims. Promoting the idea that PDFs harm the industry, and that an OGC Wiki is necessary, is easy when it will have no negative impact on your day job.

Isn't this the same thing we always seem to hear from other publishers? WOTC is only saying these things because we are hurting D&D.

Honestly, the PDF industry cannot touch D&D. IT has, however, truly screwed smaller publishers.

 

[philreed]

It also implies that the thought is offered for the purpose of generating discussion.

Mission accomplished.

 

[Vigilance]

Honestly, the PDF industry cannot touch D&D. IT has, however, truly screwed smaller publishers.

Uh... huh?

As someone who works for one of those "smaller companies", the PDF market is essential to our business plan.

It has also been embraced by Green Ronin and Mongoose, two of the largest 3rd party publishers.

How does that equal screwed?