I think much of it comes down to your goals. Are you trying to create "art" or are you trying to create a marketable product? Granted it IS possible to do both (although this seems to happen by accident more often than not) but it really comes down to the goal. If your primary motivation is to create a product that is marketable and profitable one of the best ways to do this is to look at what is already out there that is working and do something different but similar. Make it different enough that it looks new but incorporate enough familiar and proven elements and odds are you'll do ok.
So yes, I think any company that looks to make a profit goes with what they've seen that works. As long as you aren't copying it exactly (aka stealing it word for word) it isn't theft...it's just business as usual. As for my own inspiration when trying to give an old idea a new twist OR to create something new...I think looking to life is your best choice. History has more to offer than every fantasy concept ever published (IMO) and you avoid the "incestual artistic mutations" that result from only looking to other art to create new art. At 07:35 AM 08/20/02 -0400, you wrote: >Maryann Siembieda recently said this on the company's message boards >during a thread where claims were made that WotC stole ideas, including >core elements to their system, from Palladium Books: > >"Actually I can support it as I've been told by nameless people who use to >work for Hasbro that they have copies of all of our products sitting on a >shelf in their production offices and that they are referred to often." > >Now, out of a sense of professional curiosity, how many people here look >to other rpg systems or settings, or fiction for inspiration when it comes >to their writing (no worries, guys and gals, this isn't a witch hunt for >plagiarism, I'm merely curious ;D ). I'd start the ball rolling and say >some of the things I've written have been largely inspired by Starship >Troopers, the Shannara series, Torg, and various DnD 1e adventures >(Expedition to the Barrier Peaks especially). > > > > >Steven "Conan" Trustrum > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Homepage: http://www.trustrum.com >"The only real people are the people that never existed" -- Oscar >Wilde _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l _______________________________________________ Ogf-l mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.opengamingfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/ogf-l
