Kyle Brink (D&D Exec Producer) On OGL Controversy & One D&D (Summary)

The YouTube channel 3 Black Halflings spoke to WotC's Kyle Brink (executive producer, D&D) about the recent Open Game License events, amongst other things. It's an hour-plus long interview (which you can watch below) but here are some of the highlights of what Brink said. Note these are my paraphrases, so I encourage you to listen to the actual interview for full context if you have time.

OGL v1.1 Events

• There was a concern that the OGL allowed Facebook to make a D&D Metaverse without WotC involvement.
• Re. the OGL decisions, WotC had gotten themselves into a 'terrible place' and are grateful for the feedback that allowed them to see that.
• The royalties in OGL v1.1 were there as a giant deterrent to mega corporations.
• Kyle Brink is not familiar with what happened in the private meetings with certain publishers in December, although was aware that meetings were taking place.
• When the OGL v1.1 document became public, WotC had already abandoned much of it.
• The response from WotC coinciding with D&D Beyond subscription cancellations was a coincidence as it takes longer than that to modify a legal document.
• The atmosphere in WotC during the delay before making an announcement after the OGL v1.1 went public was 'bad' -- fear of making it worse if they said anything. The feeling was that they should not talk, just deliver the new version.
• Brink does not know who wrote the unpopular 'you won but we won too' announcement and saw it the same time we did. He was not happy with it.
• 'Draft' contracts can have dates and boxes for signatures. Despite the leaked version going to some publishers, it was not final or published.
• There were dissenting voices within WotC regarding the OGL v1.1, but once the company had agreed how to proceed, everybody did the best they could to deliver.
• The dissenting voices were not given enough weight to effect change. Brinks' team is now involved in the process and can influence decisions.
• The SRD release into Creative Commmons is a one-way door; there can be no takeback.

One D&D

• The intention is that all of the new [One D&D] updates they are doing, "the SRD will be updated to remain compatible with all of that". This might be with updted rules or with bridging language like 'change the word race to species'.
• Anything built with the current SRD will be 100% compatible with the new rules.
• Brink does not think there is a plan to, and does not see the value, in creating a new OGL just for One D&D. When/if they put more stuff into the public space, they'd do it through Creative Commons.
• WotC doesn't think of One D&D as a new edition. He feels it's more like what happened with 3.5. They think 5E is great, but coud be better and play faster and easier with more room for roleplay, so there is stuff they can do to improve it but not replace it.

Inclusivity

• WotC is leaning on the community to discourage bad actors and hateful content, rather than counting on a legal document.
• They are working on an adaptable content policy describing what they consider to be hateful content which will apply to WotC's work (no legal structure to apply it to anybody else).
• They now have external inclusivity reviewers (as of last fall) who look over every word and report back. They are putting old content through the same process before reprints.
• Previously cultural consultances were used for spot reviews on things they thought might be problematic, but not everything (e.g. Hadozee).
• The problematic Hadozee content was written by a trusted senior person at WotC, and very few people saw it before publication.
• 'DnDShorts' video on the internal workings and management culture of WotC is not something Brinks can talk on, but it is not reflective of his team. Each team has its own culture.
• In the last couple of years the D&D team hiring process has made the team more inclusive.
• When asked about non white-CIS-men in leadership positions at WotC, Brinks referred to some designers and authors. He said 'guys like me, we're leaving the workforce, to be blunt' and 'I'm not the face of the hobby any more'. It is important that the creators at WotC look like the players. 'Guys like me can't leave soon enough'.

Virtual Tabletops (VTTs)/Digital Gaming

• Goal is to make more ways to play ('and' not 'instead') including a cool looking 3D space.
• Digital gaming is not meant to replace books etc., but to be additive.
• The strategy is to give players a choice, and WotC will go where the player interests lie.

​

 

[mamba]

I get it, man and clouds, but folks, music was better, he'll it was all better, in the 90s.

the 80s want a word with you…

 

[Sacrosanct]

FYI, in the new interview Kyle said they looking to release the 3.5 SRD to CC. But they need to review it first and make sure there are no IP, Trademark, copyright issues as they haven’t look at it in a long time.

Translation: "We accidentally let Strahd and Beholders in, and we don't want to do that again."

 

[ThorinTeague]

I mean Kyle's comments pretty clearly indicate that the OGL 1.1 was developed largely or entirely behind a "wall" from the actual D&D team, so yeah, if that's true there was another team responsible for basically the whole disaster, who are presumably not feeling particularly great right now.

Only because they got caught and shut down. Kyle is being shoved out into the spotlight as a sacrificial lamb. I'm listening to him now and I've heard at least 3 lies so far at the 25 minute mark--which let me be clear, those are lies that I believe he was under orders to tell. He wouldn't just lose his job, he'd get sued into oblivion and ruined if he didn't tell them--that's just my guess, don't put any weight on that.

Point is though the architects of this disaster have not explained themselves or answered any questions, and if Kyle gets some or all of the consequences that they deserve it will be a miscarriage of justice.

 

[Umbran]

You can have only one of two criteria: skill or representation. If you introduce a quote

Nope.

Do none of you know how corporations do diversity hiring these days? It isn't about having hiring quotas. That's a very 20th century concept.

Diversity hiring today is about finding more equitable ways of building the candidate pool. Traditional methods of putting out the job offering generally favor traditional candidates. So, you hire agencies to seek out qualified diverse candidates, and get your job opening in front of them.

 

[mamba]

No licensed RPG, no matter how well-designed, is going to become more popular than D&D. More's the pity, really.

yeah, the more I have been thinking about this (basically since this interview), the less I think it is plausible.

It’s not that it cannot be done, but it takes such a large investment over such a long time that you won’t see a return on it for years, if you even succeed in the first place that is. No one is willing to throw that kind of money at it in hopes of finally breaking even 20 years down the line

 

[AstroCat]

You mean the same group that keeps saying, "I still have all my gaming material, I don't need to buy anything from them!"

My oldest is mixed race, but he's never had an interest in gaming. Honestly, I think our society as a whole is becoming more...mixed together so to speak, so it's no wonder why the younger generation is more accepting--it's their normal. Between social media and more diverse family/friend groups, people aren't nearly as siloed as we were in the 70s. Still exists, of course, but our society in general is becoming more diverse.

I think you'd be surprised then at the age/ethnicity spend potential breakdown.

And yes for sure, for the better we are not siloed like we used to be. My son's friends group is all over the place in ethnicity and they all share the same common interests, the splits are actually more over gender at his age. Although his D&D groups all have at least 1-2 girls that play with them, and there is no weirdness between them at all, it's super cool.

 

[mamba]

I keep on prefer when people are not choosen by their color but by their skills...

the two are not mutually exclusive, you can be non-white and talented, and if you listen to what he says he does not mean it that way either

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

Nope.

Do none of you know how corporations do diversity hiring these days? It isn't about having quotas. That's a very 20th century concept.

Diversity hiring today is about finding more equitable ways of building the candidate pool. Traditional methods of putting out the job offering generally favor traditional candidates. So, you hire agencies to seek out qualified diverse candidates, and get your job opening in front of them.

Glad about that.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think you'd be surprised then at the age/ethnicity spend potential breakdown.

And yes for sure, for the better we are not siloed like we used to be. My son's friends group is all over the place in ethnicity and they all share the same common interests, the splits are actually more over gender at his age. Although his D&D groups all have at least 1-2 girls that play with them, and there is no weirdness between them at all, it's super cool.

Oh for sure. I remember when he was in high school and friends group was way more diverse than it was when I was in high school. It was really neat. Not just in ethnicity, but gender as well. Hope for the future lol.

 

[mamba]

I'd like to see their analytics that back up the claim that "white" males are still not the largest consumer group for their products. Has he been to any game stores or conventions lately, anecdotally it is still mostly white males of varying ages.

seems like a self-selecting sample though. If I poll in churches I will get older folks overrepresented…