With all the discussion happening around the new OGL, its going to be really easy for the most important detail to be overlooked, which is where this game is going to go in the next 5-10 years. There have been a lot of insider leaks that show where the current team of executives want to take D&D. Every Insider Leak I've Been Given On Wizards of the Coast - YouTube
This video - What Went Wrong with Gaming? - YouTube - is a fantastic explanation of how modern game design has shifted from a focus on developing the most enjoyable gaming experience, into how to most effectively implement abusive monetization strategies like microtransactions, premium currencies, loot boxes, and DLC, where the gameplay itself is seen as secondary to the game's potential to act as a vehicle for these monetization tactics. The executives at WOTC and Hasbro have stated that this is their goal for D&D. All of the concessions they've made in recent days are to support this goal. The only thing they care about is gaining control of the digital tabletop market, because the books don't make all that much money anyways. They want to turn D&D into the worst kind of video game, with development efforts going towards making DLC modules and digital assets, rather than writing books and adventures for DMs to run groups with.
If the OGL is replaced, we're looking at a future D&D that's paywalled behind subscription tiers, microtransactions, and every other game design element that is designed to prey upon your addiction/reward centers, in an effort to pry open your wallet. Unfortunately Chris Cao, the executive in charge of taking D&D digital seems to be of the opinion that the future of D&D is as a video game.
At this point, the OGL is the only thing protecting D&D from it's own executives, and a future where books are seen as "treasured collectibles". (Hey maybe they'll be included as a bonus with the preorder of a $600 digital premium collectors edition with dice skins and wings for your digital minifig). I don't know about you guys, but I had pretty much given up on video games when I started getting into D&D for exactly these reasons. Please don't let D&D become the next Diablo: Immortal, and let them know on their "survey" that anything short of leaving OGL 1.0 intact is unacceptable.
Do it for the DM's who have for decades, taken us all on incredible adventures using nothing more than an adventure book and a pad of paper. Do it to protect the game so that in 20 years, yours kids can know the friendship and comradery that comes from sitting around a table rolling dice and using their imagination. Do it to help the players in your group who rely on that one amazing groupmate who purchases and shares the content, because they just can't afford the subscription and cost of the books (and who are also the target when WOTC tells us that DM's account for 80% of the purchases. What they mean is most of you scrubs are playing for free, and that's something they can't abide). Do it because WOTC gave us their word when OGL 1.0a was implemented that no one would ever have to worry that it could be rescinded. Do it to protect the game we all fell in love with from a bunch of executives who don't understand that there is a difference between a tabletop game and a video game.
With all the discussion happening around the new OGL, its going to be really easy for the most important detail to be overlooked, which is where this game is going to go in the next 5-10 years. There have been a lot of insider leaks that show where the current team of executives want to take D&D. Every Insider Leak I've Been Given On Wizards of the Coast - YouTube
This video - What Went Wrong with Gaming? - YouTube - is a fantastic explanation of how modern game design has shifted from a focus on developing the most enjoyable gaming experience, into how to most effectively implement abusive monetization strategies like microtransactions, premium currencies, loot boxes, and DLC, where the gameplay itself is seen as secondary to the game's potential to act as a vehicle for these monetization tactics. The executives at WOTC and Hasbro have stated that this is their goal for D&D. All of the concessions they've made in recent days are to support this goal. The only thing they care about is gaining control of the digital tabletop market, because the books don't make all that much money anyways. They want to turn D&D into the worst kind of video game, with development efforts going towards making DLC modules and digital assets, rather than writing books and adventures for DMs to run groups with.
If the OGL is replaced, we're looking at a future D&D that's paywalled behind subscription tiers, microtransactions, and every other game design element that is designed to prey upon your addiction/reward centers, in an effort to pry open your wallet. Unfortunately Chris Cao, the executive in charge of taking D&D digital seems to be of the opinion that the future of D&D is as a video game.
At this point, the OGL is the only thing protecting D&D from it's own executives, and a future where books are seen as "treasured collectibles". (Hey maybe they'll be included as a bonus with the preorder of a $600 digital premium collectors edition with dice skins and wings for your digital minifig). I don't know about you guys, but I had pretty much given up on video games when I started getting into D&D for exactly these reasons. Please don't let D&D become the next Diablo: Immortal, and let them know on their "survey" that anything short of leaving OGL 1.0 intact is unacceptable.
Do it for the DM's who have for decades, taken us all on incredible adventures using nothing more than an adventure book and a pad of paper. Do it to protect the game so that in 20 years, yours kids can know the friendship and comradery that comes from sitting around a table rolling dice and using their imagination. Do it to help the players in your group who rely on that one amazing groupmate who purchases and shares the content, because they just can't afford the subscription and cost of the books (and who are also the target when WOTC tells us that DM's account for 80% of the purchases. What they mean is most of you scrubs are playing for free, and that's something they can't abide). Do it because WOTC gave us their word when OGL 1.0a was implemented that no one would ever have to worry that it could be rescinded. Do it to protect the game we all fell in love with from a bunch of executives who don't understand that there is a difference between a tabletop game and a video game.