> Ryan S. Dancey
>
> I welcome any and all comment and input.
I think the summation you sent to legal outlines all of the major points you
set out when you originally proposed the license. A careful safeguarding of
the D&D proprietary material is necessary to maintain the value of the
existing pseudo-mythos of the WotC settings. These same safeguards will
work to the advantage of those who would create their own settings, so that
seems pretty consistent. I foresee some considerable disagreement on what
constitutes 'level advancement' and 'character creation' based on prior
discussion of those topics, but I doubt anything critical will come of it.
> And a final issue, the license should restrict the ability of a
> publisher to
> create computer software. I envision a time when we will want to
> relax this
> requirement, but I think that we should tackle that problem in the future.
I don't think I can adequately express how strongly I disagree with this
recommendation (but I'll try).
You have actively encouraged the use of the internet to share and distribute
OGC, and a logical extension of that use is to create OGC which uses
software to expand the usefulness of that content. I imagine this is a
primary revenue source for WotC's future plans, but like the old TSR
internet policy, it can backfire.
The digital age is here TODAY. Active content which blurs the line between
software and document is already becoming commonplace. Plan for it. Accept
it. Embrace it. Turn it to your advantage. Make the d20 logo attractive
to software vendors before they have a chance to establish themselves with
OGC, otherwise you will lose your only leverage with those vendors.
The press coverage of d20 on Slashdot and its ilk ought to tell you one
thing if nothing else- the people who played D&D in their youth are the
internet entrepreneurs of today, and they KNOW software. If they see a buck
to be made having fun they will claw at the opportunity. These are the same
people who build Linux startups, convert traditional businesses into new
click-and-mortar enterprises, and build the bridges that link B2B commerce.
They are the guts of billion-dollar industries, with the experience to
match. The have the know-how to build real tools, and OGC gives them the
means to create real game tools. Linux is a REAL operating system in spite
of Windows, and OGC can inspire REAL software in spite of d20. And unlike
the OS war, WotC doesn't have a 10-year head start on the industry, and the
barriers to entry aren't nearly so high.
-Brad
