D6- Do you think the new company will D6 Open it?

[The Game Guy]

There was word on the West End Games forum that someone was looking into purchasing West End Games as a whole.

Which brings me to the question- If a new company got ahold of D6 do you think they would do Open D6 open or just revise it and sell it as a closed system

[jasonga]

I think it really depends on why they're buying WEG (what property they are after the most). Unfortunately most of the scenarios I can imagine result in there being no Open D6. Unless they are going into the purchase with the plan of doing an Open D6 from the start, I can't see them deciding to do it in the future.

Which isn't to say I won't be pleasantly surprised if they do go ahead with any sort of Open D6 plan :)

Cheers,
Jason

[imported_Magman]

I think it really depends on why they're buying WEG

I concur. Person must already have an idea of what they plan on doing with the company. Hopefully they are buying it to enhance all aspects of WEG gaming systems. Not just one or two and simply let the others rot away for a rainy day.

And hopefully there is some clause in the contract that says the person can't simply buy it, to sell it off to people at a higher paid price.

[Grimace]

To paraphrase "goldenrod": "The odds of a new company turning D6 into an open system are three thousand four hundred and seventy to one!"

I don't see it happening under any new ownership. Period. No one is going to spend thousands of dollars to buy the D6 system and then make it an Open D6 system. It just wouldn't make sense from a money expenditure standpoint.

So, if the D6 system is sold, there's almost no chance of it becoming open. Any thought of it as such is probably just a pipe dream. The only thing that could be hoped for is that the new owner is open to the idea of licensing it out.

[asmkm22]

i'd rather see it revised and released, rather than made 'open'. of course, simply releasing it as a stand-a-lone ruleset again isn't going to really do anything. it needs to be released as part of a setting.

[skeloric]

To be honest, I see more of a "toolkit" like GURPS forming.
the previous incarnation did not adequately display the robust nature of D6.
instead there were three separate toolSETS instead of a toolkit and at this point not only is it important to push D6 as being more of what the other games claim to be that they truly are.
savage Worlds is OK i suppose but it relies on multiple varieties of dice and that is something I consider a weakness.
I carry on my person at all times a D30, D20, D6.
The D30 is just for a general "can you believe there is a D30?".
The D20 is in case of TORG games or if I REALLY get suckered into wasting my time on a D&D game.
The D6 is just for D6 games (including GURPS) and thus I have all the dice I desire to carry around
White Wolf is such that I have some D10s close to hand but I've yet to find a few I really want to carry everywhere.
EDEN also relies upon D10 -- a single D10 -- which makes it quite nice as well.
Simplicity of dice in the D6 system thus trumps Savage Worlds for me.
The Besm Tri-Stat system is another system that D6 excels in comparison to as Tri-Stat cannot model large differences in power adequately.
Instead, Tri-Stat requires a change in the die rolled to alter the probabilities which means that it is actually inferior to savage Worlds which has already been discussed above as using a spread of different dice.

Whoever buys WEG (or its components) will probably need to invest HEAVILY (beyond the actual purchase price) over a 3 to 4 year period with little income in that time just to get "on the board" and thus get even a small portion of the ever dwindling Non-D&D market.
Owning an RPG company is no longer a license to print money like it was in the late 70s up into the early 90s.
Instead one must pour money into it and hope that it comes back out.
Or one stays a minuscule blip on the internet, reaching only the lunatic fringe that has adopted the PDF market, never growing beyond three guys in a basement "publishing" in their spare time when their REAL jobs allow.
I doubt that whoever plans to buy all of WEG is any such "basement publisher" as dropping a serious chunk of change just to make less than $700 a month from online PDF sales would seem to be counter productive.

What remains is one of the "big" non-D&D outfits:
EDEN
FFG
White Wolf
Whoever publishes "Savage Worlds".
Steve Jackson Games
Whichever company Hensley owns that does Deadlands and such.
Maybe somebody else who has physical product sitting on shelves in game shops.

People who still have the cash out there and the brand recognition -- basically a company that is beyond being some easily ignorable website that receives a pitiable dozen visits a day because it only sells "virtual" product.
the NEXT generation of gamer walks into a game store and browses through books and buys something rather than going online to spend money on unseen and unreal "merchandise" that only exists as ephemeral (and thus useless) data.
Thus whoever is dropping a huge outlay of cash is probably gearing up to either publish physical product or they are gearing up to fail.
This does in fact limit the number of publishers that could be planning to buy WEG and even more importantly, it limits the number the NEW people who CORRECTLY think they have what it takes to get into the industry.

So, it has to be shown as a robust and infinitely customizable system and it would be economically prudent to publish a physical product.
Companies like White Wolf and EDEN and Steve Jackson Games(GURPS) typically make about $10,000 a month in sales at least (WotC/D&D more likely in the multiple hundreds of thousands per month) and this is where the buyer needs to set his vision if he plans to buy WEG and it needs to be the sort of income he can be able to afford DUMPING into WEG for months on end in order to succeed.
"Joe Schmo the internet publisher" with his sales (and income) under $3000 a month should keep on walking.

This is the reality of the new market.
"Three Guys in a Basement" are like a little hobby-project that barely pays for itself.
A TRUE corporate venture steps out of the "essentially vaporware" of online PDF sales and arrives on shelves in stores.
Not just game shops but actual book stores.
Why is D&D still the product EVERYONE knows about? It populates shelves in Barnes and Noble and thus reaches even those areas that no longer have a "game shop".
White Wolf also has found its way onto the shelves of a "REAL" bookstore.
I've seen other RPGs on those bookshelves.
GURPS is on those shelves as well.
And what RPGs are really popular everywhere?
The one that are on physical game shop shelves -- but more importantly, the ones on Barnes and Noble shelves.
This is the future that D6/WEG needs to cultivate or it will return to non-publishing obscurity.

[skeloric]

As to opening up the system?
I just can't see it making a dent in the industry though I would welcome it although I would do so with a heavy dose of suspicion and a looming dread of the importance of statements like "buyer beware" after the D&D/D20/OGL experience.

[slink]

Whoever publishes "Savage Worlds".
[snip]
Whichever company Hensley owns that does Deadlands and such.
Which is, incidentally, the same, "Pinnacle Entertainment Group" (http://www.peginc.com/)

[slink]

As to opening up the system?
I just can't see it making a dent in the industry though I would welcome it although I would do so with a heavy dose of suspicion and a looming dread of the importance of statements like "buyer beware" after the D&D/D20/OGL experience.
Actually, this is what Shane managed with Savage Worlds. Deadlands was/is the brand name pushing SW. There are two licences for the game system: one for fan material and one for official, licensed products:

There is no cost to this, and you don't need to submit anything for approval. In doing so, you agree to the following terms and conditions.

We'll work with each company on a case-by-case basis. Once we grant your company the license, you can make whatever you want without submitting it for further approval, as long as you follow the guidelines below
Be aware that we're looking for HIGH production values--meaning great art, trade dress, and professional layout--as much as we are great content.
There is no fee for this license.
Besides the system reputedly being fast, easy to learn and fun to play, I think this is why SW managed to get a decent market share. Probably it's not comparable to the big three (WotC, WW and SJG), but decent none the less.
(Btw, the one main reason I didn't look at it yet is the multitude of dice you need to play. I just don't like the idea...)

[skeloric]

(Btw, the one main reason I didn't look at it yet is the multitude of dice you need to play. I just don't like the idea...)
I know the feeling, I said the same above as to a strength of D6.

I thought Deadlands had a different system instead of the multiple dice kludge.
After all, I have Fistful of Zombies which includes a Deadlands conversion and the system seemed different.

[Kalzazz]

I personally find the only use one die to be a drawback to D6 until characters get leveled enough to roll at least 10 of the things. At which point the sheer number of dice being rolled makes up for the lack of variety

[asmkm22]

I play Warhammer, so it's hard for me to claim that I don't love rolling fistfulls of dice...

[The Game Guy]

whatever happens I think it will be awhile before we know what is going to happen with D6 and it will be awhile after the new owner gets it before anyone will be able to do anything (because of the many processes the new owner will have to go through).

[hellsreach]

I have not really asked about any intentions with that regard, I don't believe that Open D6 will be unlikely. Open D6 was not simply a move to give back to the fans that support D6, but also to create and maintain a robust gamer network through shared development and support. This will further establish emotional investment and keep gamers coming back for more -- including commercial products. Open D6 is not just the best thing to get people playing D6 again, but I firmly believe it is the best thing to SELL more D6 products.

As much as people want things from free, a large portion of the consumer public, when getting something for free, will repay with their loyalty and will tend to nurture a sense of obligation. People want things for free, but most people -- in some small way -- realize that nothing is free and will feel motivation so buy stuff in repayment. Give away the core system, including the rights to the copyrights and trademarks for commercial development, and you'll increase the player-base manifold.

A lot of people have been turned off by the D20 Open Game experiment, for the glut that it allowed, but it really was a phenominal success in creating a robust player-base loyal to that system.

Open D6 FTW.

[asmkm22]

A lot of people have been turned off by the D20 Open Game experiment, for the glut that it allowed, but it really was a phenominal success in creating a robust player-base loyal to that system.


I agree with this completely.

[The Game Guy]

I have not really asked about any intentions with that regard, I don't believe that Open D6 will be unlikely. Open D6 was not simply a move to give back to the fans that support D6, but also to create and maintain a robust gamer network through shared development and support. This will further establish emotional investment and keep gamers coming back for more -- including commercial products. Open D6 is not just the best thing to get people playing D6 again, but I firmly believe it is the best thing to SELL more D6 products.

As much as people want things from free, a large portion of the consumer public, when getting something for free, will repay with their loyalty and will tend to nurture a sense of obligation. People want things for free, but most people -- in some small way -- realize that nothing is free and will feel motivation so buy stuff in repayment. Give away the core system, including the rights to the copyrights and trademarks for commercial development, and you'll increase the player-base manifold.

A lot of people have been turned off by the D20 Open Game experiment, for the glut that it allowed, but it really was a phenominal success in creating a robust player-base loyal to that system.

Open D6 FTW.

While I understand what you are saying, D20 also had the backing of the largest rpg in the world D&D.

D6 (while I enjoy it dont get me wrong) doesnt and isn't as popular. Open D6 may not go down the same way the D20 OGL did.

[hellsreach]

Open D6 may not go down the same way the D20 OGL did.

Nor do I suggest it will, but openning the system will make it more accessable to publisher and consumer alike and can only increase the player-base, and stands a good chance of significantly increasing commercial D6 product sales.

[The Game Guy]

Nor do I suggest it will, but openning the system will make it more accessable to publisher and consumer alike and can only increase the player-base, and stands a good chance of significantly increasing commercial D6 product sales.

Oh I agree and I think this is a good thing. I would hope that it wouldn't go the way that some people wanted it to go (public domain) because I just think that would do more damage then good.

But D6 being open and available is a good thing