D&D's new Open Gaming License

[m7600]

Critical Role's stance on the situation:

 

[Antimatter]

Still a tad weak there from Critical Role, but at least they said something.

 

[m7600]

 

[shmity72]

good interview. I wish I still had my advanced dnd near mint condition original dungeon modules from the 70s I sold off on ebay in the late 90s!

The Temple of Elemental Evil - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Antimatter]

Turns out, actions have consequences. But these consequences affect normal people working in the company that made bad decisions.

Hasbro Layoffs Affect Wizards Of The Coast

Hasbro, parent company to Wizards of the Coast, announced that it would be laying off 1100 staff members in an internal company wide email on December 11th.

www.forbes.com

1100 (!) people laid off. More than the number from Epic Games earlier this year (900).

Key DnD and MTG staffers laid off despite Wizards' success

Despite raking in profits, Wizards of the Coast was hit hard by the Hasbro layoffs, with lots of DnD and MTG workers losing their jobs.

www.wargamer.com

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

@Antimatter That's terrible. I think this forum needs a 'sad' reaction button.

Is this one of those layoffs that's really about maintaining grotesque profit margins, rather than maintaining solvency?

 

[Zaxares]

Is this one of those layoffs that's really about maintaining grotesque profit margins, rather than maintaining solvency?

Almost certainly the former, yeah. And it's a decision that will almost certainly come back to bite them in the rear. D&D is on a high right now given the positive reception it's had in things like Honor Among Thieves and (much more broadly) in BG3, but Hasbro looks to be canning a lot of the team who actually KNOWS what they're doing. It's a bit like firing all the knowledge experts in your business who actually make the products you sell because "grunt level workers shouldn't be paid that much".

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

@Zaxares I had a feeling that would be the case. It seems that the stupidity of management defies comprehension more often than not. Couple that with greed and the erosion of antitrust law and enforcement, and we have a world that's going to hell.

 

[Cahir]

I wonder how it will impact Larian plans. I guess, it depends if their initial contract with WoTC was to make just BG3 or more games in FR setting. Getting to terms with new guys from WoTC may be something Swen won't have the will to do, especially if someone decides that it would be a bright idea to stick their nose into Larian's creative design process.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

There are hints of new games, as @Antimatter has alluded to, so one assumes there would have been a provisional contract of some sort.

Getting to terms with new guys from WoTC may be something Swen won't have the will to do, especially if someone decides that it would be a bright idea to stick their nose into Larian's creative design process.

That would truly be a disaster. Let’s hope Hasbro/WoTC are at least smart enough to understand that. Larian is the goose that laid the golden egg here.

 

[Antimatter]

Bleugh.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Ugh.

 

[JustKneller]

I don't think it's going to be too hard to understand the ethical ramifications for throwing ethics out the window. Fortunately, I haven't spent a penny on anything from WotC in decades.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Sometimes you have to ask why you’re doing a thing. If you willfully endorse the wholesale surrender of the imagination to a computer, then it was never really about the magic of making games. You may as well have been a hedge fund manager from the start.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Bleugh.

I never want to see AI used in an official capacity for a game, unless they are doing something really creative with it, like dynamic dialogue for ordinary NPCs.

Now, if WoTC made their own DnD art generator or something like that, trained solely on official DnD art and well versed in DnD terminology and monsters, that would be fun.

 

[Nimran]

WotC is a joke, and Hasbro’s the clown. They won’t get another cent from me. In the meantime, the people still working for them should prepare for another round of layoffs in case this latest self-inflicted disaster doesn’t work out for them.

 

[JustKneller]

WotC's actions are obviously on the radar of the ttrpg community, too. Strangely enough, there's a bunch of old school gamers that are actually rooting for WotC in a lawsuit against a copyright infringer (who is basically a tax dodging transphobic neo-nazi that harasses old school gamers, no exaggeration), even though nobody in that community really likes their products. However, for old school gamers, WotC is somewhat moot. All of the old editions are complete and playable in their own right, no further products are needed, and as WotC gets blander and blander, classic tabletop (D&D) has no trouble retaining its character. D&D is just a sticker WotC puts on crappy books and accessories.

I think video games are definitely going to have a bigger problem with AI. Anyone can grab an old tabletop ruleset and cobble something together to play with friends, but coding a video game is a much more laborious endeavor. You're pretty much stuck with whatever the "industry standard" is.