OGL; Is it working?

[jdrakeh]

There was a lot of hubris in the early OGL era, of a lot of really bad books being published, as countless gamers dumped their savings into tiny start-up companies that churned out their own homebrew stuff to compete alongside WotC's own material, and it sank like a rock.

Thank god that's [mostly] done and over with. I didn't touch anything d20 during the first year of its release due to the flood of inferior product clogging game store shelves everywhere and, in 2001, I bought exclusively from Sword & Sorcery Studios for much the same reason. I don't miss the days where picking up any product with the d20 logo on it was a complete crap shoot at all. I like being able to go down to the FLGS and be reasonably assured that any d20 product on the shelf is worth the cover price.

 

[eyebeams]

hey guys,
I was just thinking about the OGL today, and I was wondering hat the original purpose for it was, along with Has it lived up to it and where do you think it will go in the future.

1) No, it clearly did not fulfill its original purpose, which was to reduce the demand for other systems and maximize WotC profits by focusing them on the cores, leaving most supplements to the third party. We know this both because of the continued prevalence of other systems and tyhe fact that, after much hubristic chatter, WotC has returned to an aggressive supplement schedule.

2) This does not mean that it was useless. Not one bit. What it did do was change the complexion of the market by heading off D&D clones (since you can use the system anyway) done by vanity projects. On the other hand, it promoted vanity projects using open content. This got rid of some chaff (though it really was intended to be a burden on major competing systems as well, and never succeeded at that) and better yet, served as a laboratory where major publishers could see how viable an idea was by observing minor partners. Consider, for instance, that many, many WotC releases mirror recurring subjects from third party retailers. The career books basically responded to third party success in selling class books, which WotC originally refused to give more than thin softcover treatment.

While the OGL has not killed other systems or made producing supplements unnecessary for WotC, it has crippled the market for softcover print releases that are not modules. Gamers now want books as specialty artifacts and want them presented as "core" material. Thus, nearly all OGL (and many other) industry line releases besides adventures are hardcovers or .pdfs. Adventures are an exception because of nostalgia value, size and economics (only DMs buy them).

3) The OGL is only as strong as participants willingness to engage in litigation. Keep in mind that technically, the OGL's content was always free for others to use. Rules alone are not intellectual property and much of the Open Content is based on prior art. What you get out of open content is a specific expression of the rules which is easier to reconcile with D&D books. You always had commercial access to the rules themselves.

 

[Glyfair]

I would think that, despite the excellent quality of many works from 3rd party companies, if WoTC made D&D 4.x closed, a good deal of the gaming community would go with that no matter what. Most people buy WoTC only, and usually just the core 3 (for GM's at least).

IIRC, the WotC market survey seemed to indicate that a while a very large majority of RPG players (including DMs) play D&D, most of them have been playing the same thing for many years. So, this group is unlikely to migrate to a 4E, they'll stick playing with what they've been using.

However, this group also isn't a market that you take into consideration from a design POV. They've spent their money on the game, and any future purchases are minimal.

I think if a 4E is released and not open, you'll have a bigger fragmentation of the market then you do now. The "D&D only" crowd will be split between editions, the "d20/OGL" crowd will split their core allegiance between many options. The real issue is where the D&D players who spend the most money go.

 

[Mouseferatu]

As for the OGL going 'bye bye' - can't happen. It's a common misconception that WotC can dissolve the OGL. They can certainly stop using it in the future, but they can't retroactively declare it null and void or repeal copies of the license already in circulation. Why this misconception lingers, I do not know (there is no evidence to support it past paranoid delusion).

Probably because while WotC cannot pull the OGL, they can pull the D20 License, and there's still a lot of confusion between the two.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

As for the OGL going 'bye bye' - can't happen. It's a common misconception that WotC can dissolve the OGL. They can certainly stop using it in the future, but they can't retroactively declare it null and void or repeal copies of the license already in circulation. Why this misconception lingers, I do not know (there is no evidence to support it past paranoid delusion).

Because paranoid conspiracy theories are a favorite past time of humans?

 

[Yair]

I agree this Psion and everyone else - it's largely a success.

While WotC can't technically revoke the OGL, I believe moving to a closed content or other license for 4.0 will effectively kill the OGL. There would still be some OGL games, but no more than other games, and the bulk of the industry will be playing D&D not OGL games.
Changing to another open license would actually do more to kill OGL products than changing to a closed content model, IMO.

 

[philreed]

While WotC can't technically revoke the OGL, I believe moving to a closed content or other license for 4.0 will effectively kill the OGL.

I think this will depend on exactly what 4.0 is. If it is as much a minis game/board game as many people think -- which fits the direction the game has been gradually headed in for years now -- then I think there will be a large number of players that skip 4th edition and remain with the current rules.

Also, if 4th edition is more miniatures game than roleplaying game it will create a demand for more rules lite OGL games. Witness the success of True20, for example.

 

[Buttercup]

I think this will depend on exactly what 4.0 is. If it is as much a minis game/board game as many people think -- which fits the direction the game has been gradually headed in for years now -- then I think there will be a large number of players that skip 4th edition and remain with the current rules.

Quoted for truth.

When I look to my right, I see a wall of d20 books. Yup, it looks like a success to me!

 

[Psion]

Quoted for truth.

When I look to my right, I see a wall of d20 books. Yup, it looks like a success to me!

Hey, look. It's Buttercup! LTNS.

 

[Buttercup]

Hi Psion! :waves: I've just been busy lately. In fact, I should be shovelling snow right now, before going to work. But if I procrastinate long enough, I won't have time!