Do you think the OGL was a good idea?

[The Black Ranger]

I just got to thinking about the OGL and I figured I would start a poll. Personally, I thought the OGL was a fantastic idea because it gave more freedom to the game system itself and gave corporations less control, Pathfinder is a perfect example of this. I wasn't ready for d20 to end so I'm glad another company was able to pick it up and keep it going.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Yes.

Those who vote no will be tracked down, have their OGL games taken away, and be forced to play World of Synnibar for the rest of their gaming careers.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Yes, because it got more people into playing the game.

 

[Nagol]

Good idea for whom?

 

[Morrus]

Good idea for me, because I published nearly 200 products using it! So yes, I think it was a good idea.

 

[Wicht]

It was not good, it was Great!

 

[DEFCON 1]

Yes, because it served its purpose at the time, which was to get many more people playing and continuing with Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition (and its 3PP off-shoots) than it would have if there had been no OGL. I personally believe WotC did much better financially over the 8 years of 3Es run than it would have otherwise without the OGL.

I also personally believe WotC made more money switching to a non-OGL 4E than they would have had they just released a 3.75ish 4E... because despite everyone's claims that Pathfinder specifically was really what most players wanted, I firmly believe had WotC released it rather than Paizo... it wouldn't have been received nearly the same. After the 3.5 revamp that bothered many players and seen as a money-grab... had they released a .3.75ish 4E they would have been slaughtered for it by many in the playerbase as a definite money-grab and nothing more.

It's only because it was Paizo specifically releasing their version of a 3.75 that made many players stick around and accept it. One, because many of them really liked what the company did with the magazines and were more than willing to stick with them after what they felt was WotC giving Paizo a raw deal by taking the magazines back. Couple that with a 4E game they didn't feel was an improvement over 3.5, and it made players much more ameniable to moving on to a '3.75'. Pathfinder was from a company they preferred, it worked specifically with a series of adventures they enjoyed, and it meant they didn't have to play a new version of D&D that they didn't like.

All things that I don't personally believe would have been in WotC's favor had they done 3.75 themselves.

 

[Ahnehnois]

What would the gaming landscape look like without it? Would D&D have experienced a 2000's renaissance? Would we here all be playing the game? Would ENW exist?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say no.

 

[delericho]

Yes, absolutely.

 

[DEFCON 1]

What would the gaming landscape look like without it? Would D&D have experienced a 2000's renaissance? Would we here all be playing the game? Would ENW exist?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say no.

Actually... I suspect that D&D itself would have experienced at the very least the same opening salvo that it did, because the marketing push for 3E would have generated the same "coming home" for the large amount of the playerbase. It was the fully-revamped game and not the OGL specifically that brought people into and back to the game at the very beginning.

That being said... I do agree that a good percentage of the playerbase stuck around in the world of d20 specifically because of what the OGL gave them. For many, it was more varied supplements than they otherwise would have. For others, it allowed them to play in the d20 pool with all the rest of us without ever needing to purchase or give money to WotC-- because for whatever reasons some players had their hair tied in knots about refusing the support the company. So they could play D&D without ever giving cash to the company that made D&D.

As far as ENWorld? I have no doubt that the forums on the D&D side at least would have remained just about as active throughout 3E and 4Es runs because of the strength of participation that would continue off from EricNoah's site... assuming (of course) that Morrus was able and willing to keep the forums open during that time without having the influx of cash that came in from the OGL products (which might very well have been the reason the forums have stayed open.) If ENWorld died out... it would have been because of the money necessary to keep them open, not because of lack of participation.