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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Maggan" data-source="post: 1587117" data-attributes="member: 6616">My viewNah, for me, I was just padding my reply so that no one would think that I was mean to Gygax. Sometimes I'm a bit too careful (and then again, sometimes I'm not). <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />  Why do I care about what Gygax says: Because he is an influential person involved in the hobby, and his views influence other people, both hobbyists and publishers. And since I think he is wrong in many ways, I see people being influenced to also be wrong. This is of course only in reference to my own views, and I realise that I am probably as much wrong on a lot of things as Gygax on others.What is my opinion, had Silven intervied me? Well, since you ask... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> (questions slightly edited to make sense).Q1) Are you against open licenses like the OGL in any form or is it one factor of the licensing model that you think is poor?A1) I think that using OGL is a very worthwhile endeavor. It gives me a possibility to tap into some of the D&D audience, without having to create my own rpg, which I hate. I like to do the support stuff. There are a few things I particularily don't like about the license (the nudity clause, the political clause and the religious clause), but these factors don't matter so much to me that they detract from the main value of the OGL.Q2) WoTC have on many occasions maintained that they went ahead with the OGL to relieve themselves of the all the burden of creating add-ons to the D&D universe so that they could focus on the core products. Is this not in essence a good idea?A2) Yes, I believe it is. WotC focuses on the core products, and small companies focus on fulfilling special needs that WotC probably would not touch with a 10 foot pole. For me as a customer, as opposed to me as a writer, this means that I can play D&D, and pick up special books to cater for my changing tastes in settings and atmosphere. So for me as a D&D player, I think it is fabulous! I don't think WotC would have produced Dynasties&Demagogues, or the Scarred Lands, or Swashbuckling Adventures, and I don't even think they should. But by releasing the OGL someone else made these great products, that I like.Q3) Now a downside to the OGL is, of course, the mass of mediocre products to hit the marketplace immediately following the release of the license. No doubt this contributes in the short term to a dilution of the brand and a weakening of the market quality. However do you not think that in the long term better products will emerge out of necessity and slowly out compete the poor products, thus reestablishing the strength of the brand AND a larger selection of products for the consumer? Are we not seeing this happen today on a small scale?A3) I think the OGL will have a long term positive impact on the quality of D&D material. Maybe even on non-D&D material, when good and solid d20-designers move to other challenges, which I think is inevitable. Writers learn by working within d20 and the OGL, and when they have skill and confidence they write other stuff. Or just keep on writing even better d20 stuff. There were crap products before the OGL, and there will be crap products after the OGL. I also think that the initial spike of d20 products were good so that a lot of writers could give it a try, see if they had what it took to continue. Many, many didn't, but now we have "new" companies like Necromancer Games, Green Ronin and Mongoose, all which I think very highly of (for different reasons).Q4) What are your views on WoTC redefining the license after its release to shut out certain types of content and is this is a manifestation of one of the weaknesses in open licenses like the OGL?A4) I was upset when that happened, not because I was surprised by it, but because it limited the appeal of making d20STL compliant stuff that was really dark horror as I envision it (I worked a bit on Kult, eg, and I don't think Kult would fly under the current d20STL). But then again, the limitations are only there if you work with the d20STL and not if you chose the OGL, so to answer your question, no it is not a weakness in the OGL, since the changes were to the d20STL (as far as I understand it).Q5) Does the presence of the OGL at all assist WoTC in making steps towards [bringing in new gamers] A5) I don't know. I think they would do that by getting the brand out to more people, and I think the crpgs are more effective than the OGL in doing that. I also think the D&D collectible miniatures and the upcoming Basic Set might be more efficient in bringing new gamers to the table. But the OGL sure aint stopping anyone from entering the hobby, so I wouldn't worry about it. It's not an OGL issue, it's a business strategy issue (of which OGL is but one part).Q6) If you would have been present at WoTC when the decision was made to create an open license, how would you have gone about it, assuming that not doing it was not an option.A6) I would have supported the idea, and trusted Ryan Dancey and the business managers to carry it through. As a writer, there's not much more I could have done. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> Q7) Lastly, lets confront the reality of the existence of the OGL. Its here and it looks like its going to stay. We have seen some benefits and downsides to its existence. What can we [the industry] do now with the lessons learned so far to ensure that the OGL grows into something that is a benefit to the D&D and d20 genre over the years to come?A7) I don't know about the downsides. I just don't see them as much as other people do. But what can we, the industry, do to ensure that the OGL is a benefit for years to come? Well, we could get down and play d20-games with a passion, showing people that this is a fun hobby! We could point out to people that are saying "all d20 is crap" that there are tons of good, innovative and exciting stuff available. We could also try some other games, and let them influence how we write stuff (if it's a good influence), we could ask publishers to clearly mark out the OGL contained in their products so that reuse is easier. But all this is just small stuff. I'm not a visionary who can see the shape of the hobby in front of me, so I just sort of keep doing what seems like a good idea. And for me the d20STL and the OGL seems like good ideas.That's what I would have answered, had Silven Crossroads asked me.Cheers!Maggan</blockquote>

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