How long do we wait for WoTC to speak?

[Ruin Explorer]

So what do folks think they will say this afternoon?

Most likely?

"I'm sorry you guys listened to Evil Leakers and Misleading Journalists, how terrible. The OGL 1.1 is your friend! We're just trying to help and take a tiny bit of what we're owed! Oh and 1.0a isn't being deauthorized, hahaha why would you think that? It's just opt-in!"

And a bunch of softball questions nobody asked about other aspects of the OGL 1.1 spun to make them sound as good as possible.

 

[jgbrowning]

Maybe they don't want anyone to see it?

Sounds like nothing substantive. If it's not in writing, I'm not really interested. Video is to persuade and influence not problem solve. It's a performance.

joe b.

 

[Velderan]

So 1 thing I've noticed. The tweet DDB sent out saying they'll say something soon currently has 1.8m views. Scrolling through the previous 10 tweets, I only can find 1 that has passed 100k views..

 

[Ibrandul]

Most likely?

"I'm sorry you guys listened to Evil Leakers and Misleading Journalists, how terrible. The OGL 1.1 is your friend! We're just trying to help and take a tiny bit of what we're owed! Oh and 1.0a isn't being deauthorized, hahaha why would you think that? It's just opt-in!"

And a bunch of softball questions nobody asked about other aspects of the OGL 1.1 spun to make them sound as good as possible.

If it's going to be a video rather than text, this opens up the real possibility that it won't be aimed at the 3PP industry or its outraged supporters at all.

It could very well just be a video explaining what OGL 1.1 does, why it's a good thing, etc., all pitched at people who haven't yet heard about it—and more or less ignoring those of us who have.

If they've decided to stick to their plan, this might be (from their point of view) the best option at this point. Remember, this is all about their vision for a transformed business model for the game. If they don't have a new vision yet, they'll stick to the old one.

We'll know soon enough.

 

[Riley]

So 1 thing I've noticed. The tweet DDB sent out saying they'll say something soon currently has 1.8m views. Scrolling through the previous 10 tweets, I only can find 1 that has passed 100k views..

That one DDB tweet was retweeted by the main @Wizards_DnD account.

 

[Dausuul]

Aside from that one zero-calorie tweet, they have been dead silent for a full week since Linda Condega dropped the bomb (which happened on January 5th). It doesn't take that long to put together a statement if all you intend to do is blow smoke, deflect attention, and carry on as before.

There has to be a policy change in the works, probably including a hasty rewrite of the License From Hell.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

To be honest I doubt that either one was the result of a monetary or similar kickback.

What's much more common is that someone involved is really a hyperfan and/or has family/friends who work at the subject of the fannish behaviour. With OA, I'd think it was much more likely they have a friend or family member who is senior at WotC, or they themselves are slavish WotC fans. Or they might just be jerks trying to score maximum controversy clickbait from some nerds. The fact that they're telling people to take their pitchforks to individual journalists, and generally trying focus hate/anger on a single journalist (who was by no means the first person to say any of that - just the first in a major news thing) really suggests they're basically trolling for clicks and patreon subs.

You might be right, but at this sensitive, pivotal time, I think the possibility of underhanded influence in social media is just something to be aware of, especially for forum administrators.

[Edit: And also incisively distracting posts, especially when the OP is calling for action. (e.g. inane ‘don’t worry be happy’ LOL.)]

 

[CapnZapp]

"Wizards of the Coast believes strongly in Open Gaming, but we also believe the OGL must change to meet new challenges that have arisen in the two decades since it was drafted. However, we are strongly committed to the D&D community, and based on the feedback we have received, we believe we've made some mistakes and we're deeply sorry for the hurt and anxiety this has caused to our partners and our fans. That's why we're going to take some time to reassess our way forward. Look for more information in the coming months once we've done some soul-searching and landed on a path that will work for everyone who is a valued part of our vibrant D&D community."

Sit back, let the furor burn itself out, wait for the large 3PPs to clear themselves out and commit resources to their heartbreakers. Make damn sure OneD&D is awesome and brings the vast majority of the fans along. There is no strategy without risk, at this point, but I think they'd be crazy not to take this kind of approach. If they do, I don't think we should be sitting on the edge of our seats for their statement.

Did you also once think Pathfinder 1 was a "heartbreaker"?

Because they can't undo the damage, the complete and total loss of trust.

And your attempt (not sure how much is repurposed WotC-speak and how much is your own words) is weak - as soon as people read "we also believe the OGL must change" that will basically confirm WotC has zero intention of even trying.

Remember, the leaked OGL 1.1, that is the opposite of an open license, has made it extremely clear that when WotC says "Wizards of the Coast believes strongly in Open Gaming" that's a bald-faced lie.

 

[CapnZapp]

My current guess is: No formal announcement except “The OGL will stay intact.” Then 6e is published under a GSL-like, WotC cuts bait on 5e SRD/OGL content, and tries to woo publishers to 6e with VTT and sweetheart deals.

Edit: wrote my comment as Greg was posting. I agree that they will do almost exactly that, they don’t need to kill OGL 1.0a to try this strategy. A legal fight against a small OGL user would be terrible PR again — why bother looking evil when softer strategies have the same result?

Correction: they didn't need to kill OGL 1.0a. Now they already have.

Your strategy would have been sound back in (November? December? before any of this was known)

Now everybody is convinced there is zero future in D&D 3rd party publishing. And there is just about enough time to write and publish a D&D competitor game before D&D 6e's release in early Fall 2024.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

repeat post? or time travel?

Double-post. I was trying to post from a public terminal at the library where I work, and forgot I wasn’t logged into EN World. Got turned around as trying to navigate not losing the post I’d typed out.