-- Bryce Harrington bryce @ neptune.net ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 02:13:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Bryce Harrington <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Open_Gaming] Final Text of Approved Open Gaming License On Sat, 16 Sep 2000, John Kim wrote: > On Sat, 16 Sep 2000, Christopher L Weeks wrote: > > John Kim wrote: > > > People *have* created open games before. > > > > Yes, I know. But the OGL is the only license that I know of that is > > meant to cover multiple game systems/concepts. One wouldn't produce > > computer-based war games (for instance) under some relationship with > > FUDGE. They might under the OGL. > > Well, FUDGE isn't the only open game out there. Circe is > released under the GNU Free Documentation License, which is certainly > not game-specific in the least. Lycadican is released under the > Open Content License. Dominion Games has their own draft license > which is also non-game specific. > > Below are some URL's for these games. There are hundreds > of free RPG's on the web, so there may well be more free-license > games that I am not aware of. > > > http://www.worldforge.org/website/rules/circe/ > > http://members.xoom.com/Lycadican/ ^^^ I think Lycadican's defunct, but see: http://home.uleth.ca/~leewsb/devel/faq.html > http://www.dominiongames.com/ I spoke with Richard Stallman about the GFDL, OGL, and the Open Content Public license, particularly as they apply to gaming, when I was selecting the license for Circe. At the time I put it under the GFDL, there were no other gaming systems available under the GFDL or the GPL. I didn't see anything in the OGL that made me feel it was superior to the GFDL, and at the time it looked like it was going to be dominated by WOTC/TSR and the copyright intricacies gave me indigestion. The problem I had with the Open Content license was that it restricted commercial sale of the rules. To some authors, this probably sounds perfect, but consider how expensive (and time consuming) it is to print, distribute, market, and support a game. My strategy with Circe is to allow anyone who wishes to sell it, to go right ahead and do so. I figure, if you're willing to do all that work, then you've earned it anyway. Seeing Circe in widespread use would be enough for me. ;-) But the primary resason I chose to put Circe under the GFDL was because I felt there ought to be game systems available freely to the community to build on and build from, with no danger WHATSOEVER of being sued or sent one of those nastygram Cease and Desist letters the old TSR goons were so fond of sending out. Circe will always be community property. You're more than welcome to take it, modify it to heck and back, and even sell your custom copy for whatever you deem appropriate, as long as you pass those same rights on to everyone else. 'Tis only fair, right? If you don't mind a little plug... These days, myself and the good folks of the WorldForge project are working on creating an online gaming system built around the Circe rule system. We've got the code to a preliminarily usable state, have created a ton of artwork, and have a bunch of gaming music. A gameworld called Dural has been designed (including maps of some of the main play areas), too. We could really use more volunteers to chip in with rules development - designing monsters, filling in the details of the game world, generating characters, thinking up plotlines, and polishing up the documentation. We also need better marketing, so we'd be much oblidged if you could mention us to anyone you know who might be interested in joining in on the development work. The website is www.worldforge.org. Most people hang out on irc at irc.worldforge.org/#lounge. You can subscribe to our mailing list by sending an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Bryce Harrington bryce @ neptune.net ------------- For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
