----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel Abraham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2000 8:21 AM
Subject: [Open_Gaming] Looks like there's been a lot of debate, I'm calling
for the question...
> Out of everyone on this list, please respond to the following questions:
>
> 1) If you wrote a module, would you place it on the open license
agreement?
Haven't decided yet. If its a DnD-ish module, I would. Presently I find it
much easier to write and think in terms of Fudge, which I wish would go
"Open".
I am kinda kicking around an idea for a community world-building project for
a sci-fi game. Set up a website with a sketchy background and basic
classes/races. If anyone wanted to, they could submit/post new species and
tech, etc. The community as a whole (via mailing lists etc.) could vote for
content to remain "official" or head off into oblivion. This project would
be Totally OGL.
> 2) How do you think such an agreement affects a new writer breaking into
the
> field?
Instant accesibility! If I write something for Fudge, it doesn't matter how
cool it is, only a small fraction of gamers will pick it up/download it. If
I write it for a system that is well-known and accepted, Voila! customers.
(Although, I've never actually charged for anything...not my style.)
> 3) Do you think experienced writers will use the open license agreement?
I would hope so. The ability to protect...shall we say "creative" IP, and
still leave the "mechanical" IP open to revision should provide sufficient
opportunity for profit as well as creative freedom.
> 4) What do you predict will happen to professional writers who choose not
to
> use the OGL?
Hard to predict. It remains to be seen AFAICT, whether the OGL or d20STL
will completely eliminate other game systems. I personally am guessing that
other systems will hold out a while, until sufficiently varied content under
the OGL or d20 license builds to compete with their genres/settings. Even if
they become marginalized, they might maintain enough sales to support their
own existence like many small game companies do (or claim to) now.
> 5) Who benefits the most from the OGL, and why?
>
Eventually, the entire gaming community. Mutable and evolutionary systems
will adapt much more quickly than corporate turnaround (generally). Imagine
that there's something about a d20 game someone wrote, and this something
just stinks. Everything else about the game is okay, but that one thing is
just atrocious. Before, the game would go through a few years, get
rewritten, and come out in a new edition. Now, the users will be able to
post patches within hours of inventing them. Others will see the patches,
adopt them, and the best patches become dominant. This could happen within
weeks (if not sooner) since any popular game will quickly spawn a fansite to
act as an arena for the patches. The company, then can make the changes
without the long development process that puts years in between editions of
games.
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