Man this is a great one...I could sum up my reply into: Clark, can I have some of what you are drinking?
Or you can read on :) "So then why did Fudge and Fuzion fail? Because no one really cares that much about doing anything with that content. Without the valuable content (ie D&D) none of this would be happening. If Chivalry and Sorcery were released under the d100 system, you would not see what you are seeing now with d20." In part probably the genres associated with the systems, marketing dollars, lack of support after initial each core product release, lack of core central organization, and odd mechanics (interchanging at will a d10 mechanics with a 3d6). "This whole "evil corporation" argument gets tiresome. Its easy to paste the corporate tag on WotC and rally sympathy from decidedly non-corporate gamers. But that isnt the way it is. I've met Ryan. I've talked with him about 3E and the d20 movement. He LOVES this. This wouldnt have happened without his passion for gaming. To call the d20 movement an evil corporate scheme is insulting to Ryan." I never made a comment about Ryan. In fact I respect him...a lot. The game industry needs some more folks like him. I am working on a couple projects and have even emailed him in regards to one of them professing how much I would like it to work out. Ryan and WotC are two different entities. I really wish YOU would be able to separate them. I am also not casting about morality judgments...by using the word "evil". "In addition to being tiresome, the "evil corporation" argument is overly simplistic. The TRUE FACTS deomnstrate that all you are doing is relying on time-worn tags to criticize something." Reread my email Clark. You obviously read something else. You use the word "evil" four times. I never made such claims. "If your argument were true that this is an evil coroprate moneymaking scheme then evil faceless suits would have concocted open gaming. THEY DIDNT. Ryan pushed this. In fact, the suits resisted a bit. Are there valid business reasons for what Ryan did? Yes. Of course. Having a passion doesnt mean checking your brain at the door." Hmm...Clark have you been drinking? D20 has nothing to do with Open Gaming, period. OGL does, yet you somehow translate my comment as this? *snort* Give the bottle Clark I need a slug too! "Is there a suit somewhere that believes that? Probably. Ryan Dancey didnt feel that way. Anthony Valterra doesnt seem to feel that way. Keith Strohm and co. didnt seem to feel that way last time I talked to any of them." Ummm ok. So what? Ultimately Hasbro does what is best for Hasbro. This is common sense here. They have a responsibility to share holders. "In fact I stood at GenCon with Ryan and Keith and we were looking at the (then) new Forgotten Realms book. I said to them that I thought that was the most well put together book I had ever seen. Though I'm not a big FR guy, the book is unbelievable. I said "looks like we d20 types are pushing you all to raise the product bar." Keith and Ryan smiled and agreed. I think it is true. Competition makes for healthy products--better products." Cool Clark, thank you for the story as off topic as it is. "Your premise that beacuse someone makes money that the system is faulty and greed-based only is faulty." Actually, again, your translation of my email is odd. I never once claimed the system faulty . In fact it is beautiful and wondrous. Making money is a good thing... "Ask yourself this: is the gamer better off? I dont think anyone can say anything other than YES." Well if the gamer is a D20 fan, sure. There are plenty of gamers out there that don't really care one way or the other. I will till I die argue that D20 cannot properly capture the feel of certain genres. "I dont deny your ability to hold your own opinion. But your opinion is directly contradicted by the facts as I know them to be by having met and spoken with the major players about this very topic." My opinion is OGL (OPEN Gaming License) is just that. My opinion is that D20 is NOT open but requires 5% openness...which isn't a lot , nor does it guarantee new material. "That being said, I dont expect to change your mind. :)" Change it? Change what? I mean is there a Clark Fan Club somewhere? I wanted to join but now I don't know... Clark, you REALLY should become a politician. You put an AMAZING spin on things. I was simply commenting on how WotC has and will continue to do what is best for Hasbro. That isn't being evil, there is no conspiracy, there is nothing wrong. It is just a business but between "evil" the "I am a good guy" plea, you turned what was a relatively harmless email into BS. You rock. I'll have to buy a beer at GTS or Origins for that... I will restate my original point: OGL as an independent forum for game publishing is almost non-existent. As a backbone of the D20 marketing plan it rocks. It is a fact, plain and simple. Now let's see how many "evils" Clark can reply with. Richard _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
