Why Open Gaming Is Important

[Reynard]

NOTE: This is not a thread to argue about, or even really discuss, the OGL 1.1.

This thread is about why Open Gaming is important. More specifically, it is a thread about why we, individually, feel it is important. Folks are free to debate however they like about the "whys" and it is even okay to debate if it is, as long as we do so respectfully.

For my part, Open Gaming fulfills the ultimate promise of D&D and tabletop RPGs in general: they are products of imagination that are ultimately egalitarian. Everyone can play D&D, even if they can't afford rule books. More importantly, everyone can make D&D -- for their friends, for their fellow gamers, and for the world. All you need is a cool idea and the will to mold that idea into a form usable by others.

Remember the initial d20 glut? I do. Sure, there was a lot of shovelware at that time, companies jumping on the bandwagon for those d20 dollars. But there was also a whole lot of labors of love. There were campaign settings and house rule documents that had been developing for literal decades turned into books you could buy. Mostly terrible books, mind you, but that's not the point. Everyone is bad at art when they first try.

The best part was that in general, the good ideas won out. A lot of stuff got buried of course, but what became popular wasn't necessarily pre-destined by the wallets of the companies putting it out.

I never got in a position to make a living off writing OGL material, but I have enjoyed a nice freelance career at least half fueled in one form or another by Open Gaming. A lot of people got to live their dream of "writing D&D" because of Open Gaming -- some of them writing for actual D&D. Our work has been seen by more eyes than we could have likely hoped otherwise. Tt's been good. It's been rewarding.

 

[Reynard]

Another reason it is important is that it widens the tent. A lot more people can share the community of being "D&D players" with a healthy Open Gaming ecosystem.

 

[payn]

More options for players, creators, etc...

 

[Dausuul]

Another benefit is that it creates a talent pool where aspiring designers can prove themselves. This allows the big dogs in the TTRPG industry -- very much including WotC, the resident Clifford -- to recruit people with design chops relevant to the type of game they're designing.

Look at 5E. Both of the lead designers, Jeremy Crawford and Mike Mearls, came up through the OGL universe -- Green Ronin for Crawford, Malhavoc Press for Mearls. Two of the other people on the design team also came up through Green Ronin. The most successful edition of D&D ever created was made possible by the OGL.

 

[aco175]

The original intent and documents did open the gates for new people and new ideas. I read on another thread that it allowed for every game to use the same mechanics that everyone can relate to, and thus allow all companies to grow. This worked if you were making a D&D game or Star Wars, or some of the others with the d20 mechanic.

Is is still as important today as to 20 years ago? Not sure. The rise of the internet to what it is now and the amount of sites with stuff for your game is almost too vast. Each game and company is trying to claim a share of the pie, but is the pie all from the openness? Maybe.

 

[Alzrius]

I love the fact that my game of choice (Pathfinder 1st Edition) is still receiving new, quality material from an array of publishers. Before the OGL, if your favorite game stopped being produced, you might find some fansites with homebrew content, but that was it. I don't want to go back to those days.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Open Source, whether it be in gaming or software, is equivalent to Standardized Parts: they mean people can innovate where it matters instead of of building an all-new base from scratch every time. Otherwise, the first person to make the most workable base becomes an obstruction to everyone else.

 

[Art Waring]

The concept of open gaming allowed for the cross-pollination of ideas in a way that promoted innovation within the d20 ruleset.

Homebrewers modding games are a good sign of a games health. When modders leave games they wither and die.

 

[Clint_L]

Hmmm...I don't know what I think about open gaming's importance.

On the one hand, it allows a commercial avenue for those who love doing what many of us have loved doing from the beginnings of this game: modding it to our own purposes. For example, I am currently working out how to fuse D&D with Fiasco to try to create a D&D game in which everyone is the DM. OGL has given us a huge number of resources for D&D, most of them niche products that would never have been made by WotC.

On the other hand, it might have led to a homogenization of the RPG industry, so that instead of creating something truly original, many creators may have stuck to the (previous) security of the D&D ecosystem. This is kind of what the OGL was intended to do: push the idea of D&D as a kind of OS for RPGs in general. I don't think I love that. But then, maybe I do love that it is so easy to wrap my head around all these niche games that are essentially D&D.

Yeah, I'm not sure where I come out on open gaming. It can be seen as a kind of gaming culture colonialism.

If the furor around OGL 1.1 drives a lot of creative folks away from making another D&D setting or clone...might that not be healthy for RPGs in the long run?

Edit: I write this as a fan of D&D. I'm not saying D&D is bad. I'm just saying that not everything has to be D&D.

 

[payn]

If the furor around OGL 1.1 drives a lot of creative folks away from making another D&D setting or clone...might that not be healthy for RPGs in the long run?

I think that OGL has been so popular and useful for 20 years demonstrates that there is a certain level of existence that relies on it being a thing. The fact that nothing other than PF is even comparable shows the market cant really support numerous D&Ds.