I'm going to have to agree. Everyone I've met who worked for WoTC
(corporate, not retail) was a passionate, enthusiastic person. They love
the games they create and sell. It was for the love of gaming that they
saved TSR, as it was not the most sound financial move a company could have
made. (The sound move at that time would have been to continue focus on
TCGs, obviously.)
Since then, TSR (under the WoTC aegis) produced 1 very fine game in
Alternity. The work on that system can be looked at as a predecesor to this
d20 system which the PHB uses. (Very similar in many ways are 3e D&D and
Alternity.)
I've been happy to be a longtime TSR and WoTC customer. I remember when TSR
was the "750 pound gorilla" and MTG was a fledgeling game. It seemed all
too soon that a dying TSR was swallowed up by WoTC, and a lot of us feared
D&D and Alternity would never see light of day again.
I was thrilled to demo Alternity when it was a new system, and saddened when
it didn't do quite as well as expected. I was even more happy to see the
development of 3e D&D, but I stayed away until the very end, until July of
this year. I'm glad in many ways that I did, because I've been able to see
an explosion of 3e without having to hold my breath for a year.
I joined the list here to see what the OGL was about. To see what it could
be used for. I'm not concerned that WoTC is going to try and use the OGL
against us. This project comes from gamers, and it's designed to help
gamers. Kudos to Ryan Dancey and WoTC/Hasbro for having the courage to do
something different than what other companies have done before.
-Mathew Gray
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris DeLisle [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2000 12:36 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [Open_Gaming] Thoughts on OGL
It's a bold and scary move on their part and I give them props for taking
it. I am not so naive as to believe that there is any altruism on their
part in making this decision. They are a business and as such are out to
make money. What they are doing that is different from many other gaming
companies is to apply sound business practices to their company rather than
following poor policies which have led many a company to financial ruin. I
have seen a lot of prejudices and petty jealousy from other companies and
gamers alike towards WotC. WotC catches the flack for their success form
both sides and has gained a unfounded reputation for being an evil empire
bent on dominating the gaming industry. Sure, they want to dominate the
industry, any company that doesn't isn't going to make any money, but that's
a fact of life in a business setting. I had the chance to listen to, talk
with and observe several members of the WotC staff and it has become
painfully obvious to me they are all avid gamers with a great love for the
games they product. WotC has gone to great lengths in an attempt to heal
the wounds caused to the gaming community by TSR's campaign of online terror
against their customers. This is the greatest strength I have seen from
WotC, they understand that customer service is the key to survival. After
seeing what they are giving back to the gaming community with the OGL, I
can't help but be pro-WotC.
-------------
For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
