tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post3790644041602463832..comments2023-05-27T11:14:02.426-04:00Comments on Some Space to Think: Openness and ObstaclesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-83065092780701874232010-03-16T06:40:04.971-04:002010-03-16T06:40:04.971-04:00Someday!
But, yeah B is a pretty serious conside...Someday! <br /><br />But, yeah B is a pretty serious considerationAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-51723645819064119452010-03-16T00:18:11.284-04:002010-03-16T00:18:11.284-04:00I'm still waiting for you to slap together a g...I'm still waiting for you to slap together a good draft of Faith & Credit, man. :) But I'm happy as hell to go CC when a) I want to do an open system, and b) it's not in conflict with a decision to go OGL already. "B" being just as important.<br /><br />Though in the interim Colonial Gothic has stolen some -- though not all -- of that concept's thunder.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08362641974657304051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-71552108082667650322010-03-15T22:42:48.408-04:002010-03-15T22:42:48.408-04:00@Raven I can't disagree with you at all - it&#...@Raven I can't disagree with you at all - it's scuzzy and disconcerting.<br /><br />But at the same time, it's been necessary to develop any level of community confidence. WOTC is not the only company to wave around legal threats, and given the shoestring budget most game shops operate on, I can't fault the conservatism that says they're not goign to take a chance unless they really feel their asses are covered.<br /><br />It's a choice made out of fear, and flawed as a result, but my hope is that the current period is one of transition. Sure, 4e was a retrograde step, but I think a lot of things are driftign in the right direction.<br /><br />That said, yeah, were I to do another system today, I would almost certainly go Creative Commons. The time has come for it.<br /><br />-Rob D.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-83523338776998141102010-03-15T22:10:40.945-04:002010-03-15T22:10:40.945-04:00@helm no, you're absolutely right that FATE si...@helm no, you're absolutely right that FATE si a different category, and witht hat you have inspired tomorrow's post.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-6667257295326886812010-03-15T16:56:06.348-04:002010-03-15T16:56:06.348-04:00Great post. I never really thought of it as clear...Great post. I never really thought of it as clearly from the potential publisher's perspective and that makes a lot of sense as to why there is so much concern about having a solid license.<br /><br />I would love to see our hobby move over to some gaming-based evolution of the CCL and Raven Daegmorgan's concerns over the OGL increase that desire. Very good points, Mr Daegmorgan.<br /><br />Finally, comparing the success of the Savage Worlds model, the FATE model and the dismal failure of the current D6 "strategy" demonstrates how important it is to get the product energy out there for a system line <i>before</i> obsessing about marketing and rights and who owns what. Gibson's dog in the manger behaviour (which may sound harsh, but I've been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt for years now and I think at this point this is more than just simple naiveté or inexperience) has effectively reduced the value of the D6 line. Though he pretended he wanted to open the system up, he was never comfortable allowing it to be truly free, trying always to force it through a single gatekeeper (which was of course, Eric Gibson) either through keeping the D6 name or by his OpenD6 project, a now dead-in-the-water website where all D6 projects would have to be posted. Had he just let the beast out in the wild and then built on the energy from all the various projects, he could well be holding command over a small D6 empire at this point. Instead, he put the cart before the horse and now both are in the ditch, broken and wounded.OlmanFeelyushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17521657876810568251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-36833912318360996202010-03-15T16:19:20.332-04:002010-03-15T16:19:20.332-04:00I don't think there is something that's to...I don't think there is something that's totally open like that... yet, but there are at least a half dozen bloggers out there who are working on a CC system. The only problem I see is that nearly all of these bloggers live-by, die-by, pledge-eternal allegiance-to, and sacrifice-their-firstborn-on-the-alter-of uber simplicity. Which I get, I really do... 3 stat systems have a place and I seriously believe that marketed in the right way a 3 stat system that could be printed on a single page in the back of a fantasy novel would be brilliant... <br /><br />But a system that still works by mostly numbers rather than a more narrative approach such as FATE (I'm coming dangerously close to talking out of my ass here I know, so forgive me, I don't intend to shoehorn any systems, just providing context.) needs (IMHO) a good structure to be truly worthwhile for kitbashing. I just feel like these really rules-lite systems don't hold up under extensive play, and generally anyone who wants to build their own game probably wants to run it through the paces, rather than just throw down for a single session when everyone's bored. <br /><br />So maybe there's an opening in the hobby for something still... or maybe I'm totally out to lunch on my perceptions of the market. Either way I've got ideas in the works and hope to release under Creative Commons... maybe it'll be good maybe it won't... though the more I think about it the more I sincerely believe it isn't the best games that sell, but the best marketed ones that ultimately do.Helmsmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05248835491973291242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-37394448878340420262010-03-15T14:48:08.972-04:002010-03-15T14:48:08.972-04:00One of the things about the licensing systems for ...One of the things about the licensing systems for games that makes me very uncomfortable is that they're giving us the right to do something we already had the right to do: publish using someone else's system as the base and claim compatibility.<br /><br />After d20 and the OGL everyone seems to have forgotten that systems were never copyrightable -- you could use someone else's system all you wanted and were legally well-within your rights, and the only thing you couldn't do was claim the trademark.<br /><br />The OGL movement set a legal precedent that disturbs me a great deal in terms of how it affects our hobby culture and the amount of control it gave to publishers over something they legally are not supposed to have any control over.<br /><br />What seems forgotten is that the whole reason the OGL came about in the first place was because of TSR's abuse of the legal system in the 90s, when they were suing fans for putting fan-created material up on the internet.<br /><br />It was a sneaky way to protect fans (and other publishers) from corporate lawyers, not to protect systems from fans, even though the latter is what licensing seems to be turning into.Raven Daegmorganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09149574131562660186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-44371221374784550272010-03-15T11:26:04.819-04:002010-03-15T11:26:04.819-04:00Oh dear. The last thing I heard was that Eric Gib...Oh dear. The last thing I heard was that Eric Gibson (aka WEG) was going ahead with <i>Open D6</i> project. Sad to hear that the project seems to have actually collapsed in the meantime. Then again I do believe he bought the remaining WEG assets (at a discounted value) in the hope of making money from them, but given the loss of it's most profitable licence this was unlikely.<br /><br />Does anyone know if he has actually released an open licence for the D6 system. He said he is going to, and that the terms that have been discussed are active, but has he actually produced an <i>actual</i> legal release for the system, and if so, where can I find a copy?<br /><br />[I liked the D6 system, mainly because you could readily convert <i>Torg/Masterbook</i> (of which I was one of the comparative few that really liked it) into the lighter game system. Sic transit gloria.]<br /><br />And no, I can't think of a modern open system out there, although a lot of companies now seem to have very transparent licences for their "generic" systems (Savage Worlds, [non-Cthulhu] BRP, [non-Gloranthan] Runequest II, and [the non-Traveller bit's of] Mongoose's Traveller). After all, the more product that is available the more interesting their core product will seem to be.<br /><br />Although I know a number of game systems I'd like to use as a base for stuff. <i>Ironclaw</i> being a noticable one at the moment.Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.com