>From: "Eric Noah" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>You're right -- no one knows if it will truly work until it's tested.
Very true. No one "knows", BUT can some very reasonable assumptions (based
on "business cases") be made that would strongly suggest that d20 will quite
likely supplant *some* action resolution systems and prevent the development
of *some* new action resolution systems?
SOME ASSUMPTIONS (are they reasonable?):
1. Is it reasonable to assume that new games based on bestselling books or
popular movies will be more marketable if they are based on the "leading"
gaming system, rather than on some completely new gaming system? For
example, look at the buzz that conversion of the "Star Wars" rpg to D20
would bring. Under OGL/D20 this can be done completely without WotC's
permission and without paying them a dime. Done properly the IP of the
successful story can easily be protected. How about creating a company that
specializes in doing just this for successful fantasy authors and movie
producers - converting tham into role-playing games based on D20?
2. Is it reasonable to assume that older games based on popular books,
stories, and movies could get a much wider readership and a new lease on
life if they are converted to d20? My personal perspective: there are
stories that I have LOVED that have been converted into games that I would
have loved to play/run, but either had no interest in learning a new game
system/or could not find players who wanted to learn a new system. Stories
like Elric of Melnibone', Middle Earth Role Playing, Chronicles of Amber,
Cthulu, (even "Men-in-Black") - all are role playing games of books or
stories I found fascinating, but I have never purchased any of their
products.
[I take that back - I once bought an Elric of Melnibone supplement from a
bargain bin because I was wanting to run an AD&D Melnibone' campaign - but
the book was so rules heavy as to be useless to try to convert...]
3. Other games, such as Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, etc. might very well see some
marketing benefit from rewritten to be based on a gaming system (d20) that
was recognized as the market leader. (note that I am not slamming the
games, so please don't flame.)
>Everything -- the concept of open gaming, the d20 license arrangement, and
>the d20 system itself as a gaming system -- is untried.
IMHO I still think the question is whether WotC will go forward with the
effort and make the licenses official. A lot is resting on those "untried
assumptions" and from one perspective (as Ryan has pointed out more than
once) WotC/Hasbro has the most to lose.
I guess I am still pretty cynical about whether d20 will happen ...
>So let's just sit
>back and see what happens before we either over-praise or over-doom it.
Here here!
Faust
See the OGF FAQ <unofficial> at:
http://www.earth1066.com/D20FAQ.htm
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