Forking the OGL

[2WS-Steve]

I just want to encourage the ENWorld community to speak up for Open Gaming, for Ryan Dancey's vision, for the gamers who don't want to abandon their financial and emotional investment in previous or soon-to-become-previous editions, for the small publisher without $5k to blow, and for the rather vocal group of 4e-skeptics.

That's what I was doing in starting this thread and pointing out the worry about forking.

I think having one, standard OGL, even if it wasn't perfect, was great for the hobby. Being able to cross-pollinate between d20, Fudge/FATE, the Action! System, and the various d20 variants helped standardize certain things that really didn't need to be re-invented all the time and helped drive innovation.

It also helped provide much better support for smaller game lines -- compare how many Mutants & Masterminds scenarios there are to World of Darkness scenarios -- despite the fact that White Wolf has a much bigger market presence.

That sort of support makes it much easier for older, busy GMs to run a campaign.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Of course, you're the one I'm rooting for.

*blush*

Why, thank you!

But actually, yes, at this particular time I do think WOTC is actually incapable of changing their minds. It's a big ship that will take at least 2 years to turn around, if ever.

Big companies can change pretty quick.

Who was the poster who mentioned New Coke? Whoever it was, I'm very grateful for the analogy--it's relevant here. The Coca-Cola company turned round in three months.