>From: "Reginald Cablayan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > From: "woodelf (lists)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > > Somehow <<insert gestures of feigned surprise>> Sci Fi Wire
> > > > learned that we've signed Monte Cook to write a high-level
> > > > D20 adventure for Penumbra...
> > > >
> > > > http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-05/04/09.30.games
> > >
> > > who's Monte Cook,
> >
> > One-third of the Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition game design team, and
> > author of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
> >
> > > and/or why should i care?
> >
> > You shouldn't, other than the fact that he is no longer working for WotC
> > and is now a freelance d20 developer.
>
>A couple of points:
>
>(1) Add this thread to the "gamers don't recognize/care about author names"
>data point pile (note to publishers: if you pay experienced writers more,
>weigh the payment in terms of what you expect to save on editorial expense,
>not expectations of name recognition)
actually: this is an example of "gamers don't recognize or care about
the names of authors that wrote games that they have no interest in,
don't own, and haven't read"[1]. i have supplements for several
games that i'd not even consider playing, just because of the author,
and have many more on the "to buy" queue. i bought Blue Planet
without knowing anything about it except the company's claim that it
was "realistic scifi", because of one of the authors. likewise, i'm
going to give Rune a good hard look, and probably buy it, just
because of the author (well, and the company: i'll think hard before
turning down anything from Atlas, and anything from Laws, Tweet,
Snead, and several others--so i'd be looking at Rune from whatever
company). similarly, Laws boxed set for Deadlands is on my to buy
list despite the fact that i burned out on the game several
supplements before that, and have found the game line as a whole
disappointing. when i see something i really like, i note the
creators (not necessarily just authors--frex, i'll take a good look
at anything with Jen Heartshorn editing/managing, because of her work
as Wraith line editor a few years back, or with Cobb illustrating,
because of his work on the Ars line under WWGS). i never would have
given Everway a 2nd glance if i hadn't known Tweet's name from Ars
Magica and OtE. stuff that i don't like usually doesn't elicit such
diligence--i figure anybody can write something poor, even a good
author. i've only even discovered my few "to avoid" authors when
someone else brought them up, and i went and searched gaming products
to look for patterns (discovering that a certain author showed up
disproportionately in the products i didn't like of a line that i
did, and that i couldn't find anything by the author that i liked).
>(2) Am I violating the OGL or D20STL if I mention, in advertising for
>Monte's adventure, that he wrote the Dungeon Master's Guide (which includes
>a WotC trademark)? Or if I include that info in an "About the Author"
>biography in the book?
oooooh! good question. dunno. about the author certainly seems
like it out to be kosher. but presumably if you are advertising the
adventure, mentioning the author's credits is in furtherance of that
advertising. it seems like bringing it up in an ad is within the
spirit of the D20STL (i don't think it's meant to deny an author her
due, nor force authors to be secretive about what they've written),
but may be a violation of the letter of the agreement.
[1] to be absolutely clear here: i've read significant portions of
the D&D3E PH, because i'm playing in a game. however, the more i
read of it or play it, the less i like it, and i was at no point
impressed by it. therefore, i didn't bother to check the credits--i
note authors that i like, but don't spend the effort on avoiding ones
that have written things i don't. if it wasn't for the advanced
advertising, i wouldn't even have known that Tweet was involved (and
if it wasn't fo Tweet's name being bandied about, i wouldn't have
even given the game a chance). i've never even opened the new DMG,
IIRC, which, combined with the fact that i didn't consider the PH to
merit noting the creators, explains why i never noticed Cook's name
(and, for that matter, having just looked at the credits page in the
PH, i probably wouldn't have noticed Cook's name anyway, since it
appears above the rest of the credits, where my mental filters
glanced right past it on the assumption that it was just the title of
the book (which often appears in about that location on a credits
page), and i only found it since i had reason to believe that his
name was there, and i reread the page until i found it).
woodelf <*>
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://members.home.net/woodelph/
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. - Gandhi
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