Re: [Open_Gaming] Gilligan's Dilema (and a locked market)

[Will Hindmarch]

Hi again, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:  The OGL says promise not to break the law and we won't sue.  Most people don't want to break the law regardless, so why should everyone pay (by helping Wizards lock up the market even more), just so Wizards promises not to sue law abiding citizens?     I don't know much about law, really, so I can only discuss the theoretical stuff. Still ...    The OGL's position outside of WotC means that other game studios could utilize it to circulate their own products and build a strong reputation. What if White Wolf created a  brand license a la d20 to release under the OGL? They've got a broad audience, too. What if some gamers never by the Monster Manual but already own the Sword & Sorcery volume? Sword and Sorcery may well build their own brand recognition off of that book. It's already started, I think. A lot of other publishers will make money from the OGL, and if their sales stay strong then WotC will not lock up the market.     Imagine a White Wolf WoD game with OGL material and d20 statistics? It'd be a gamble that d20 readers will know to look for it in a WW book, but the Wolf could still start to move fans from one flavor of game to the other.     WotC will benefit some, but I think we agree that they're entitled since they wrote the D&D game. They are confident that will continue to produce the best d20-compatible products. The odds are in their favor. But it is *possible* that d20 will get away from them via the OGL. In time, the best gaming products might even be Open products for some other system. The market will continue to evolve based on the products developed and the tastes of the audience.     WotC's offering keys to their "locked" market to anyone (like me) who would love to design games but couldn't afford the marketing and legal overheads. That promise not to sue is a reasonably big promise. The ability to use their d20 logo is reasonably powerful. I do wish that compatibility was a little easier to talk about, but the state of things will change in time. word, will