First off my full disclosure, I am not an employee of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and have never been one. I am a member of the RPGA, a gaming organization sponsored by WotC. I am working on the Living World of Greyhawk campaign as a volunteer for the NW gaming region.
I would like to clear up a few misconceptions that seem to be running through this thread.
1) TSR is dead. Ryan Dancey and WotC buried that brand over a month ago. Every Dungeons & Dragons product that comes out will now bear the WotC brand. It is unclear if reprints of old TSR material will change logos.
2) AD&D no longer exists. As Ryan has been quoted, "What is there for AD&D to advance from?" 3rd Edition (3e) will be billed simply Dungeons & Dragons (DnD). Before you judge 3e check out these websites and make an informed opinion:
Just remember that until full release of 3e in August all information is incomplete.
3) If you want to see why TSR failed as a company I suggest reading this post from Ryan of the DnD Mailing List:
http://www.rpgplanet.com/dnd3e/tsr-rsd-0318.htm
This is a nice bookend to Gygax's description of his treatment by the Bloom brothers and his ouster from TSR.
4) Open gaming is based upon the precepts of Open Source. It is still a work in progress. If you want a part in shaping it I recommend you checkout the Open Gaming Website and join the mail list.
http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/
As to the charge this is not Open Source. You are correct that it is not 100% Open Source. However, WotC/Hasbro is a 100% proprietary business today. The likelihood that Ryan Dancey could convince "The Powers That Be" at WotC/Hasbro that the Gift Economy/Pure Open Source would generate income for them is nil. Instead Ryan is working on a hybrid of pure Open Source ideals with the "We Need To Profit" paradigm of the old economy. It is not a full step but at least it moves in a more tolerable direction. BTW, I don't begrudge WotC their right to make money from their brands and trademarks. They are not making DnD open source; they are making the rules mechanics open for all to use. That means you can make your own game and tinker with the rules. Now that rocks. If you don't like their system there is always Fuzion and a few others to try.
I am keeping a close eye on 3e and Open Gaming Developments. I am also not sitting back and waiting for it to fail. If I can contribute to a more playable game and a more open business model I will give it a shot. And if WotC dashes my hopes, woe unto them. However, if I participate and it does really happen... well then I was there to help make it happen.
Slashdot Mirror
First off my full disclosure, I am not an employee of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and have never been one. I am a member of the RPGA, a gaming organization sponsored by WotC. I am working on the Living World of Greyhawk campaign as a volunteer for the NW gaming region.
I would like to clear up a few misconceptions that seem to be running through this thread.
1) TSR is dead. Ryan Dancey and WotC buried that brand over a month ago. Every Dungeons & Dragons product that comes out will now bear the WotC brand. It is unclear if reprints of old TSR material will change logos.
2) AD&D no longer exists. As Ryan has been quoted, "What is there for AD&D to advance from?" 3rd Edition (3e) will be billed simply Dungeons & Dragons (DnD). Before you judge 3e check out these websites and make an informed opinion:
Official: http://www.wizards.com/3e/welcome.asp
Unofficial: http://www.rpgplanet.com/dnd3e/
Just remember that until full release of 3e in August all information is incomplete.
3) If you want to see why TSR failed as a company I suggest reading this post from Ryan of the DnD Mailing List:
http://www.rpgplanet.com/dnd3e/tsr-rsd-0318.htm
This is a nice bookend to Gygax's description of his treatment by the Bloom brothers and his ouster from TSR.
4) Open gaming is based upon the precepts of Open Source. It is still a work in progress. If you want a part in shaping it I recommend you checkout the Open Gaming Website and join the mail list.
http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/
As to the charge this is not Open Source. You are correct that it is not 100% Open Source. However, WotC/Hasbro is a 100% proprietary business today. The likelihood that Ryan Dancey could convince "The Powers That Be" at WotC/Hasbro that the Gift Economy/Pure Open Source would generate income for them is nil. Instead Ryan is working on a hybrid of pure Open Source ideals with the "We Need To Profit" paradigm of the old economy. It is not a full step but at least it moves in a more tolerable direction.
BTW, I don't begrudge WotC their right to make money from their brands and trademarks. They are not making DnD open source; they are making the rules mechanics open for all to use. That means you can make your own game and tinker with the rules. Now that rocks. If you don't like their system there is always Fuzion and a few others to try.
I am keeping a close eye on 3e and Open Gaming Developments. I am also not sitting back and waiting for it to fail. If I can contribute to a more playable game and a more open business model I will give it a shot. And if WotC dashes my hopes, woe unto them. However, if I participate and it does really happen... well then I was there to help make it happen.
Peace,
Bryan
aka Saracen