Dungeons & Dragons released a statement today saying that the future of its open gaming license will be under the purview of the Creative Commons. The Creative Commons is “a nonprofit dedicated to sharing knowledge, and it developed a set of licenses to let creators do that,” says the newest update from Kyle Brink, the Executive Producer at Dungeons & Dragons.
This decision is a direct response to a lot of the fears the community had after io9 reported on the initial OGL 1.1 draft on January 5. The CC license will cede a lot of power to the nonprofit that stewards the license, which means that Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of the Coast will be unable to touch it and will not be able to revoke it—a massive pressure point for creators who used the original OGL 1.0 and were worried about the implications of the 30-day termination clause in the OGL 1.1.
Additionally, the statement says there will be “no royalty payment, no financial reporting, no license-back, no registration, no distinction between commercial and non-commercial.” All of these things were contested in the OGL 1.1, primarily because they were not in the OGL 1.0 and such “strings-attached” contracts deliberately go against the ethos of “open” gaming as described on the Open Gaming Foundation’s website.
There are a few sticking points from the OGL 1.1 that will continue in the new OGL, called the OGL 1.2. The biggest thing that many creators were worried about is that the OGL 1.0a would be de-authorized. That is still moving forward, but Brink says that moving forward with CC license is the company’s attempt to assuage these concerns and they specifically mention that all old content will be unaffected by the OGL 1.2. “One key reason why we have to deauthorize: We can’t use the protective options in 1.2 if someone can just choose to publish harmful, discriminatory, or illegal content under 1.0a.”
The new proposed license will be subject to the same kind of feedback and revision that Dungeons & Dragons books are subjected to. In gaming parlance, this is called playtesting, and will allow fans to share their concerns with Dungeons & Dragons directly.
Reserve the next gen Samsung deviceAll you need to do is sign up with your email and boom: credit for your preorder on a new Samsung device.
You can view the entirety of the proposed OGL 1.2 here.
[Editor’s Note: This article is part of the developing story. The information cited on this page may change as the breaking story unfolds. Our writers and editors will be updating this article continuously as new information is released. Please check this page again in a few minutes to see the latest updates to the story. Alternatively, consider bookmarking this page or sign up for our newsletter to get the most up-to-date information regarding this topic.]
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Source: Gizmodo