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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8896736" data-attributes="member: 71699">There are a few modes that may be interesting to think about: channel, platform, service, product. None of these have entirely settled definitions. Generally, I would say that a platform provides at least the tools (e.g. mechanics templates) to create content, and may be wedded to a channel for distribution. DMs Guild and RPGNow are examples of channels for distribution, and they are not platforms as I am defining them. Sometimes companies develop in-house platforms that are not available to other producers, for example videogames companies often develop in-house game tools and - if they are successful and depending on strategy - sometimes make those tools available to other producers to use under licence.A service (more specifically software as a service or SAAS) generally offers a number of functions collectively facilitating some job that users want to do. It will likely also provide a data store so that states users have invested work in achieving can be preserved. I think DnDBeyond is most like a service. The boundary between product and service is ambiguous. What we call products tend to be more statically defined, while services tend to be expansive and evolving. Historically, we have owned products and licensed services. The 5th Edition Players Handbook is a product, but one can see that it also facilitates a job that users want to do. Possibly the store of data or user state is one of the key differences.Contemplating these (partial) definitions: in order to provide a platform DnDBeyond must provide a mechanics layer that other producers can license for development. I do not think it is quite so clear that this is a necessary element of Hasbro's intent for DnDBeyond, although it might be. Whether it is or not, it is far from certain what will be the more successful strategy; e.g. whether enabling other producers to create products on DnDBeyond is the best or only pathway. (Enabling other producers comes with costs, as well as benefits.) I would say that a feature of successful platforms is that their owners have worked hard (and often over many iterations) to understand the right balance of retention of control and share in profits. With missteps along the way. Examples include Epic and Unity.I read this morning that they have backed away from the One Ring, in this <a href="https://www.polygon.com/23553669/dungeons-dragons-dnd-ogl-wizards-of-the-coast-licensing" target="_blank">Polygon article</a>.</blockquote>

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