Meta Shows off an AI DM played by Snoop Dogg

[Parmandur]

So, Zuckerberg was showing off virtual reality AI chat bots for the Metabwrse, and this one jumped out a bit. Seems like exactly the sort of thing that WotC claimed to be worried about with the new OGL shenanigans.

"So far, so standard, I thought—then, whiplash. Zuckerberg starts talking about roleplaying games: "Now you can just drop the Dungeon Master into one of your chats," he says, before Snoop Dogg, bedazzled in a red collared cape that is admittedly magnificent, announces: "Let's get medieval, players.""

"Unfortunately, Snoop Dogg seems to be mostly reduced to an elaborate, animated gif in the corner while his chatbot does most of the talking. Zuckerberg plays for a couple of minutes—and I'm not sure this is a working replacement for a good DM. Gif Dogg certainly isn't a replacement for the real thing, either."

A Snoop Dogg AI named 'The Dungeon Master' joins Meta's new fleet of bots, which you can 'invoke' in your group chats at-will

Mr Beast and Paris Hilton also join the list of celebs you can summon at the push of a button.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[The Myopic Sniper]

If the selling point of this is that you can get avatasrs of has-been celebrities (Paris Hilton!, Snoop Dog!, former basketball player Dwayne Wade!) to be your DM, I don't think WotC had anything to be worried about.

 

[Parmandur]

If the selling point of this is that you can get avatasrs of has-been celebrities (Paris Hilton!, Snoop Dog!, former basketball player Dwayne Wade!) to be your DM, I don't think WotC had anything to be worried about.

Well, they ultiamtely went with Creatice Commons, so that point of view lost hard: but I suspect at this point that they were not wrong to think Meta or Microsoft would try something.

 

[J.Quondam]

For some reason I thought the term "dungeon master" was verboten for RPG stuff outside WotC?
Zuck might have to rename Snoop's av to "Master of Game" or something if he wants to run it as a ttrpg ref.

 

[Parmandur]

For some reason I thought the term "dungeon master" was verboten for RPG stuff outside WotC?
Zuck might have to rename Snoop's av to "Master of Game" or something if he wants to run it as a ttrpg ref.

Did Dungeon Master end up in the Creative Commons Doc?

 

[Sacrosanct]

If the selling point of this is that you can get avatasrs of has-been celebrities (Paris Hilton!, Snoop Dog!, former basketball player Dwayne Wade!) to be your DM, I don't think WotC had anything to be worried about.

Snoop Dog isn't a has-been celebrity. He's still doing pretty well.

 

[J.Quondam]

Did Dungeon Master end up in the Creative Commons Doc?

A cursory search of the CCed 5e SRD PDF doesn't turn up the phrase "dungeon master", so I assume that's a "no"?

 

[BookTenTiger]

Does Snoop Dog DM have legs?

 

[aramis erak]

For some reason I thought the term "dungeon master" was verboten for RPG stuff outside WotC?
Zuck might have to rename Snoop's av to "Master of Game" or something if he wants to run it as a ttrpg ref.

four key things:

1. Zuckerberg and WotC are both in the US, and thus it's subject to US rules...
2. TSR and WotC have it as a trademark term... ISTR it was registered.
3. they've not been enforcing any but commercial use of Dungeon Master
4. US rules note that Trademarks, even registered ones, can be lost if not defended, and it's not hard to find plenty of anecdotes online where people are "DMing" things other than D&D - which, to properly defend it, they should be C&D'ing those sites and individuals.

Basically, if they were to enforce it, it'd generate huge pushback, so they apparently have taken to only enforcing it in their licensees... or direct major competitors. Cases where the confusion is likely to hurt their bottom line.

 

[AnotherGuy]

For some reason I thought the term "dungeon master" was verboten for RPG stuff outside WotC?
Zuck might have to rename Snoop's av to "Master of Game" or something if he wants to run it as a ttrpg ref.

I miss George Carlin