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4E and the OGL
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<blockquote data-quote="thecasualoblivion" data-source="post: 4547611" data-attributes="member: 59096"><p>In my opinion, they came to the (rather logical) conclusion that 3E had fundamental flaws that required tearing down and rebuilding the system. Even with this consideration, they had the choice to keep things close to how they were before or to break new ground. I think the OGL had at least something to do with the decision to break new ground.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I think this was the core issue. What D&D meant and what it looks like became very difficult to define because of both the OGL and the nature of 3.5E itself, and was largely beyond the control of WotC. While I think the OGL did some good for the brand, it didn't do what Ryan Dancy promised it would, and I don't think the actual benefits of the OGL for WotC justified the loss of brand identity and control.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't think small and agile is the right tack for WotC. They aren't catering to individual gamers, D&D is a game for the masses. OGL/indie companies can make individualisic games catering towards individual tastes and be successful. D&D is too big to cater to individual tastes, and trying to please everyone waters down the mass appeal of the industry leader. While I wouldn't call 2008 WotC idealistic(the OGL I would call idealistic), I don't see how you can call 4E playing it safe. When you scrap the most popular RPG on the market and make the next edition an almost entirely new game, that is not what I would call playing it safe.</p><p></p><p>Personally I think the OGL did as much harm as it did good. It flooded the market with D&D clones of varying quality, and tended to weaken the presence of non-D&D games that weren't based off of the OGL. The sense of entitlement I see from OGL fans and the religious fervor over it rubs me the wrong way, and I'm not a WotC worshipper. I am as much a White Wolf fan as I am a D&D fan, have played more Vampire: the Masquerade in my lifetime than I have played any edition of D&D, and have very fond memories of Rolemaster(or at least my revision of it).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="thecasualoblivion, post: 4547611, member: 59096"] In my opinion, they came to the (rather logical) conclusion that 3E had fundamental flaws that required tearing down and rebuilding the system. Even with this consideration, they had the choice to keep things close to how they were before or to break new ground. I think the OGL had at least something to do with the decision to break new ground. I think this was the core issue. What D&D meant and what it looks like became very difficult to define because of both the OGL and the nature of 3.5E itself, and was largely beyond the control of WotC. While I think the OGL did some good for the brand, it didn't do what Ryan Dancy promised it would, and I don't think the actual benefits of the OGL for WotC justified the loss of brand identity and control. I don't think small and agile is the right tack for WotC. They aren't catering to individual gamers, D&D is a game for the masses. OGL/indie companies can make individualisic games catering towards individual tastes and be successful. D&D is too big to cater to individual tastes, and trying to please everyone waters down the mass appeal of the industry leader. While I wouldn't call 2008 WotC idealistic(the OGL I would call idealistic), I don't see how you can call 4E playing it safe. When you scrap the most popular RPG on the market and make the next edition an almost entirely new game, that is not what I would call playing it safe. Personally I think the OGL did as much harm as it did good. It flooded the market with D&D clones of varying quality, and tended to weaken the presence of non-D&D games that weren't based off of the OGL. The sense of entitlement I see from OGL fans and the religious fervor over it rubs me the wrong way, and I'm not a WotC worshipper. I am as much a White Wolf fan as I am a D&D fan, have played more Vampire: the Masquerade in my lifetime than I have played any edition of D&D, and have very fond memories of Rolemaster(or at least my revision of it). [/QUOTE]
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