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Mike Mearls On the OGL
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<blockquote data-quote="chriton227" data-source="post: 4312623" data-attributes="member: 33263"><p>I thought the entire point of the OGL was for publishing d20 system products and derivitives, why would someone use the OGL for something non-d20 when the primary benefit of the OGL was access to using the d20 system in your product? If you want to open source a non-d20 product, you would be better off using a license better suited for it, whether that be something like Creative Commons or whether you come up with your own tied to the core mechanics of the system you are trying to open, otherwise you are tied in to WotC's restrictions for very little benefit. This would be akin to using an open source license from Microsoft that gave you specific permission to use portions of the MS code base, but then using it to publish a Java program that doesn't use the MS code base at all.</p><p></p><p>I also know at least one of those publishers (Pinnacle) that didn't "get into the market under the OGL blanket", at least not unless the OGL was around back in '94-'95 when Pinnacle started publishing Deadlands, Great Rail War, Hell on Earth, etc. I'm pretty sure White Wolf was around before the OGL too, given that I remember my FLGS reducing the shelf space for D&D 2nd Ed. to make room for V:tM books.</p><p></p><p>I'm really not understanding the point you are trying to make. At first, it seemed to me that you were saying that you feel a failing of the OGL is that it didn't seduce established game publishers into producing OGL works, but then when you are provided with examples of established game publishers that did produce OGL works, you hand-wave them away saying "they put d20 at the end of the product title, so they don't count". Are you trying to say that the failing is that the OGL didn't attract established companies, or is it that the established companies didn't use the OGL to open source their existing products without converting them to d20?</p><p></p><p>To have companies release their non-d20 system under the OGL, the OGL would need to be maintained by a separate organization rather than a specific player in the market. The organization could be made up of representatives from many publishers, but as an entity it would need to be independant from any given specific publisher. I know very few companies that would be willing to let a direct competitor unilaterally decide the terms under which their products were distributed, and another publisher opening their proprietary system under WotC's OGL would be doing just that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="chriton227, post: 4312623, member: 33263"] I thought the entire point of the OGL was for publishing d20 system products and derivitives, why would someone use the OGL for something non-d20 when the primary benefit of the OGL was access to using the d20 system in your product? If you want to open source a non-d20 product, you would be better off using a license better suited for it, whether that be something like Creative Commons or whether you come up with your own tied to the core mechanics of the system you are trying to open, otherwise you are tied in to WotC's restrictions for very little benefit. This would be akin to using an open source license from Microsoft that gave you specific permission to use portions of the MS code base, but then using it to publish a Java program that doesn't use the MS code base at all. I also know at least one of those publishers (Pinnacle) that didn't "get into the market under the OGL blanket", at least not unless the OGL was around back in '94-'95 when Pinnacle started publishing Deadlands, Great Rail War, Hell on Earth, etc. I'm pretty sure White Wolf was around before the OGL too, given that I remember my FLGS reducing the shelf space for D&D 2nd Ed. to make room for V:tM books. I'm really not understanding the point you are trying to make. At first, it seemed to me that you were saying that you feel a failing of the OGL is that it didn't seduce established game publishers into producing OGL works, but then when you are provided with examples of established game publishers that did produce OGL works, you hand-wave them away saying "they put d20 at the end of the product title, so they don't count". Are you trying to say that the failing is that the OGL didn't attract established companies, or is it that the established companies didn't use the OGL to open source their existing products without converting them to d20? To have companies release their non-d20 system under the OGL, the OGL would need to be maintained by a separate organization rather than a specific player in the market. The organization could be made up of representatives from many publishers, but as an entity it would need to be independant from any given specific publisher. I know very few companies that would be willing to let a direct competitor unilaterally decide the terms under which their products were distributed, and another publisher opening their proprietary system under WotC's OGL would be doing just that. [/QUOTE]
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