One thing people have to remember is this. Gail met Gary in 1983. Thus Gail saw all the dirty things that happened to Gary thanks to the hostile takeover. The people calling her "Lorraine Williams 2.0" are really making the basest of insults. Anybody who professes to care about Gary is really insulting him and his memory by making such statements.
In regards to that too, I think one of the things Gail is or will be doing is making sure the property is very protected before even beginning to work on design. Think of it this way. A lot of authors or authors estates have really be screwed over. The Tolkien Estate has no control over who makes movies and games based on JRRT's work. Winnie-the-Pooh is a horrible mess of rights and it seems the family doesn't have a lot of control anymore. It only takes a single bad contract to ruin things. And Gary was not the kind of guy to relinquish control or "give away" his stuff.
As far as a plan, it could even be as simple as "Gail, do what you think is right, regardless of anything I've said or any deal I've made". He really loved Gail.
The worst case scenario is that Gygax Games releases CZ for LA in an ill-conceived attempt to circle the IP wagons, or for 4E under the tragically mistaken view that "Gary's slavish fans will buy it anyway, plus we'll score some of the new kids." Either way I think CZ would end up being a flop (I certainly wouldn't buy it, speaking purely for myself). I'd much rather it never be released than to have it mishandled... I'd rather always dream about how cool the Black Reservoir was than to see it and find it "meh".
A few things...
1) Fans should remember that Gary NEVER wrote for the fans. He wrote for himself, hoping others would care. If he was trying to do what the fans wanted him to do, I'm sure he would have taken a writing position with WoTC as soon as Peter Atkinson approached him--because many fans of Gary are just fans of Gary the D&D creator, not Gary's current works.
2) Gary did endorse C&C. However, if you did know Gary his true devotion was to properties he 100% controlled. He "walked away" from stuff he didn't control. Also, my experience with Gary's method was that he didn't write C&C stats, he just used his abbreviated format made famous in the G and D series--only stating exceptions, he used terms like "chain" and "stone" to avoid having to adopt the positive AC scheme.
3) Gary did state that he felt C&C was the best fit for the castle. However, it doesn't mean he was also opposed to using LA. When talk started on CZ, I remember he corrected me when he was originally going to do a "dual stat" module--it was on a public list somewhere, perhaps Greytalk. I think the only reason he was opposed was he found it difficult to simulate the class and level challenge system (A)D&D is based on. But he was working on that for his own campaign.
So, why I think a Castle Zagyg for LA wouldn't sell as well as one for a C&C or old-school D&D system--it wouldn't be a "disrespect of Gary's Wishes" either.
And this all assumes CZ will be continued.
Finally, I do want to reiterate that I hope people realized that Gary cared more about his family and loved ones than his property or creations. So, in this case, in this holiday season, I ask people to remember that.
