WotC Hasbro CEO Chris Cox talks about D&D on NPRs Here & Now. Topics include Layoffs and OGL.

[JEB]

Layoffs mainly in toys and where they were in gaming it was mainly due to a change in priorities.

Yeah, I thought that was interesting. So they got rid of folks in the gaming department less because of budgetary needs, and more because they specifically wanted to get rid of those people, since they didn't fit a new set of priorities.

I wonder what the new priorities are vs. the old?

 

[Hussar]

There's a number of massive differences, and what the "open" and "ip" looks like.

True. But the general point is the same. There are vanishingly few IP’s that allow fans the freedom to add, modify, create and share the way DnD does.

The fact that many rpgs have followed similar routes is a testament to the hobby AFAIC. How many homebrew Magic cards are there? While video games obviously allow modding, I really don’t think you’d be allowed to add Witcher or Bloodborne IP monsters as a for sale mod.

 

[Hussar]

Yeah, I thought that was interesting. So they got rid of folks in the gaming department less because of budgetary needs, and more because they specifically wanted to get rid of those people, since they didn't fit a new set of priorities.

I wonder what the new priorities are vs. the old?

Pure speculation but at a guess it would be dropping a particular project maybe? Maybe there was a group focusing on making (totally unfounded speculation) Darksun and they decided to go a different way.

It doesn’t necessarily have any nefarious implications.

 

[Charlaquin]

How many homebrew Magic cards are there?

Uhh… tons? Custom card design is a huge thing among Magic players. Mark Rosewater blogs and podcasts about Magic’s design philosophy and techniques all the time to encourage fans to apply to their own designs.

 

[Reynard]

True. But the general point is the same. There are vanishingly few IP’s that allow fans the freedom to add, modify, create and share the way DnD does.

The fact that many rpgs have followed similar routes is a testament to the hobby AFAIC. How many homebrew Magic cards are there? While video games obviously allow modding, I really don’t think you’d be allowed to add Witcher or Bloodborne IP monsters as a for sale mod.

There is no doubt that the OGL was a major shift in philosophy of the whole industry and many games beyond D&D have really benefitted from the ideas of making engines accessible to designers.

But given that there is the obvious corollary: trying to retract the OGL was one of the biggest missteps in hobby history.

 

[Alzrius]

There are vanishingly few IP’s that allow fans the freedom to add, modify, create and share the way DnD does.

Acknowledging the incredible benefits of the OGL (which is the single greatest contributor to the freedoms you cited) means necessarily acknowledging the egregiousness of trying to revoke it. You can't just say "it's been over a year; it's pretty much resolved" as if the people who are still upset about it, and feel that WotC/Hasbro has not done enough to regain their trust, are being unreasonable.

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah, I thought that was interesting. So they got rid of folks in the gaming department less because of budgetary needs, and more because they specifically wanted to get rid of those people, since they didn't fit a new set of priorities.

I wonder what the new priorities are vs. the old?

Well, a bunch of the WotC examples were early retirement offers that were taken up: accelerating a turnover of the "old guard" to get new talent is a pretty old technique to tighten the belt.

 

[Oofta]

Acknowledging the incredible benefits of the OGL (which is the single greatest contributor to the freedoms you cited) means necessarily acknowledging the egregiousness of trying to revoke it. You can't just say "it's been over a year; it's pretty much resolved" as if the people who are still upset about it, and feel that WotC/Hasbro has not done enough to regain their trust, are being unreasonable.

So what is the answer? Put 'em in stocks in the central courtyard for public shaming?

Seriously. What exactly are people expecting?

 

[Parmandur]

Acknowledging the incredible benefits of the OGL (which is the single greatest contributor to the freedoms you cited) means necessarily acknowledging the egregiousness of trying to revoke it. You can't just say "it's been over a year; it's pretty much resolved" as if the people who are still upset about it, and feel that WotC/Hasbro has not done enough to regain their trust, are being unreasonable.

Did you trust them before...? I've never "trusted" WotC, see no reason to ever start.

 

[Reynard]

So what is the answer? Put 'em in stocks in the central courtyard for public shaming?

Seriously. What exactly are people expecting?

I mean, my answer is simple: don't give them any money until they make the OGL irrevocable and release the original 3.5 SRD under CC and/or ORC (ORC only because it requires "share alike" and I think that was the intent in the first place). The only way for them to make up for what they tried is to actually make up for what they tried. Putting the 5E SRD in CC is nice, but it doesn't solve the problem for the dozens of companies that have work dependent upon the OGL.