OGL v1.2 Survey Feedback: 'Hasn't Hit The Mark'

WotC has shared some of the (still ongoing) survey feedback following the release of the Open Game License v1.2 draft last week.

We want to thank the community for continuing to share their OGL 1.2 feedback with us. Already more than 10,000 of you have responded to the survey, which will close on February 3.

So far, survey responses have made it clear that this draft of OGL 1.2 hasn't hit the mark for our community. Please continue to share your thoughts.

Thanks to direct feedback from you and our virtual tabletop partners it's also clear the draft VTT policy missed the mark. Animations were clearly the wrong focus. We'll do better next round.

We will continue to keep an article updated with any new details posted here or elsewhere on the OGL. You can read it here

The linked FAQ (no, not THAT linked FAQ, the one where they say the original OGL cannot be revoked, I think we're supposed to ignore that one!) indicates that recent rumours about $30 subscriptions and homebrew content are false. They also say that they will be revising the 'harmful content' morality clause in the recent OGL draft, which in practice gives WotC power to shut down competitors at will.

You can still take the survey here until Feb 3rd.

 

[Steampunkette]

I've told them the only way they'll be able to fix things going forward.

Step 1) Apologize without trying to claw back respect/dignity/control. Just outright apologize and acknowledge that you've messed up badly with intention to correct their mistakes.

Step 2) Release the SRD into Creative Commons, or enshrine the OGL 1.0a with 1.0b. Which is precisely the same as 1.0a with the following changes to the termination information: At no point can WotC or any other individual or corporation has the ability to rescind, revoke, or otherwise end the OGL 1.0b, or OGL 1.0a. Regarding of evolution of terminology or changes in standard legalese.

Step 3) Make the GSL 2.0 for OneD&D.

Yeah, you've already killed all the goodwill from the community and it's incredibly unlikely anyone is gonna make GSL 2.0 3pp for OneD&D, and possibly even 5e, for several years... but a new generation of creators who don't know about this fiasco will eventually come along and create stuff for you. And maybe you'll be able to recover some good will over time.

 

[xiphumor]

Probably. This is the red line for lies at the heart of the debate. But even those opposed to WotC seem to be of two minds: (1) fight every inch for preserving the OGL 1.0a versus (2) the OGL 1.0a is no longer worth preserving and it's best to move on because there is too much bad blood in the OGL 1.0a now.

I’m happy to move to something other that the OGL if WotC is just going to keep trying to make moves like this, but I also want to teach them a bit of a lesson about what you can and cannot get away with as a corporation. And I want anyone who doesn’t care about D&D but who is watching Hasbro rn to see what fruits unethical and slimy businesses practices yield.

If you’ll allow a metaphor, get the baby to safety, but also, kill the snake.

 

[Art Waring]

If they are still intent deauthorizing the 1.0a, then I am not going to continue to engage with them. That goodwill is long gone, all it took was a few weeks to end 20 years of good faith and safe harbor.

All the rest is secondary. Any terms they offer are useless to a 3pp if they can still revoke the license at any time or cut you out. Creating an RPG can have a lead time of several years, with significant costs and no safety nets.

How do they expect publishers to invest the time and resources (and the risk) into making games without assurances that they can operate as a business in the long term?

 

[xiphumor]

How do they expect publishers to invest the time and resources (and the risk) into making games without assurances that they can operate as a business in the long term?

They don’t. Which is the whole point, of course. They just suddenly realized they need to make something that looks palatable enough from the outside for the player base to let them get away with it. Unfortunately for them, no one trusts them enough to even sign a receipt from them without looking for loopholes.

 

[Art Waring]

They don’t. Which is the whole point, of course. They just suddenly realized they need to make something that looks palatable enough from the outside for the player base to let them get away with it. Unfortunately for them, no one trusts them enough to even sign a receipt from them without looking for loopholes.

Yeah it was a half-rhetorical comment I guess, from my perspective they probably don't expect anyone to go along with it, they just want to push everyone out of their walled garden before the lights go on.

 

[dave2008]

Any terms they offer are useless to a 3pp if they can still revoke the license at any time or cut you out.

What if they create a license that can't be revoked?

 

[mamba]

What if they create a license that can't be revoked?

They already did that, and look at where we are

 

[dave2008]

They don’t. Which is the whole point, of course. They just suddenly realized they need to make something that looks palatable enough from the outside for the player base to let them get away with it. Unfortunately for them, no one trusts them enough to even sign a receipt from them without looking for loopholes.

No, they need to make something that can pass legal muster. The OGL 1.0(a) wasn't that document. They also need to make something that passes fan scan, the OGL 1.2 wasn't that document. The can do better and merge those to, but the question is: will they?

 

[dave2008]

They already did that and look at where we are

I have had several lawyers tell me that is not what the OGL 1.0(a) was. It is poorly written from a legal language standpoint. That is why we are where we are. If the document was a good legal document, we would not have this discussion.

I want a better legal document. I would hope we get that with ORC and what WotC eventually produces, but we have to wait and see.

 

[Pedantic]

No, they need to make something that can pass legal muster. The OGL 1.0(a) wasn't that document. They also need to make something that passes fan scan, the OGL 1.2 wasn't that document. The can do better and merge those to, but the question is: will they?

There's nothing wrong with the 1.0 that WotC didn't make wrong. They are the threat, not a helpful party pointing out a flaw. There is no "improvement" until they've restored the status quo and made amends.

We're asking them to put down the gun and give us the key to the safe because they can't be trusted with it. They don't also get to take things out of the house because they're sorry about threatening us.