I think that Faust's idea is a good one. Clearly, having a central
repository of all Open Game content is good for developers, but the issue is
whether consumers will make such extensive use of it that it harms commercial
efforts by such developers. I don't forsee that (for smart developers ;) )
for the following reasons.
If most products consist of PI material this is not a problem. I think
that anyone who decides to release materials which are primarily OC runs a
much higher risk when trying to make money since anyone can use OC if they
can find it and follow the OGL. If everything is centralized in a database
then the costs associated with utilizing that content drop dramatically.
Having accepted the risks of OC in the first place I think it is unfair to
say to the people who it is supposed to benefit, that they shouldn't have an
easy time of getting it because that would hurt the creator financially. Did
not the creator implicitly accept this risk when agreeing to the OGL?
Should other developers or consumers have to compensate a developer who
chooses to take the greater risks associated with OC? By this I mean, should
everything be made more difficult for them to accomplish when using OC? The
extra hoops others have to go through to use one developer's OC protects that
developer's income stream (arguably a form of compensation). Having to track
down OC everywhere makes things more difficult, but this is primarily a
research issue. Anyway, realistically how many non-developers will find this
database and use it?
I think that developers simply need to accept that Open Content alone is
not a good way to make money and that it is only something which adds value
to, or in combination with, other more proprietary content. WotC certainly
seems to feel this way. Of course, packaging, etc. are also ways to add
value (and which are proprietary) and this does not mean that products which
are primarily OC cannot succeed. It just means that OC alone doesn't create
value, it is more the context in which it is presented which does. Value can,
of course, be interpreted many ways.
I simply believe that anyone who thinks that OC alone can make them money
(and would therefore be hurt by free centralized distribution) is missing the
point of OC. OC is designed to enhance other things whether they are game
fun, PI products, or ease of development. Distribution is the heart of OC
and blaming it is sort of strange. OC is not an ends but a means.
Of course I concede I may be entirely wrong on this :).
Alex Silva
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Point of Interest for developers: ALL OC must be properly referenced and it
is up to each user of the OGL to protect themselves from errors. A database
only makes it easier to find things in the first place, not look up
information (credits) which must accompany any use of OC anyway. Also has
anyone seen "re-prints" of OC yet? Maybe there is less to worry about than
you think.
Idea for Faust: Is there anything to say that you couldn't have database
access restricted to people who contribute their reference docs? This keeps
out consumers.
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