tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post1887367386178231769..comments2024-03-19T04:29:47.922-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: The Clone WarsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39922087726053984522008-04-30T11:39:00.000-04:002008-04-30T11:39:00.000-04:00Re: IP consolidationYes, it's an unfortunate thing...Re: IP consolidation<BR/><BR/>Yes, it's an unfortunate thing. I positively hate the way that some great games are now held in perpetuity by companies with no intention of ever doing anything with them. I'd say it's criminal, but I already have too much of a reputation for hyperbole. Suffice it to say that I wish a lot of game properties were "freed" to return to their creators rather than languishing in IP hell.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3174777120688699032008-04-30T10:20:00.000-04:002008-04-30T10:20:00.000-04:00"I have a sinking feeling that so much of the heri..."I have a sinking feeling that so much of the heritage of this hobby is going to wind up trapped in Hasbro's IP vaults, along with Avalon Hill's great wargames, never again to see the light of day."<BR/><BR/>And don't forget that this trend of gaming IP consolidation began when TSR took over SPI and thus gained their entire library as well. And, of course, as the chain goes, now Hasbro owns "War in Europe" too. :-(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-60949883868739319502008-04-18T23:14:00.000-04:002008-04-18T23:14:00.000-04:00I call myself a neo-grognard. I gamed a lot in hi...I call myself a neo-grognard. I gamed a lot in high school, but fell away from the hobby completely till 3e came out. I collected the 3e core books and some supplements but never actually <I>played</I>, and lost track of the hobby again.<BR/><BR/>After stumbling across the 4e preview books I got interested in D&D yet again. But it's discovering the retro-clones [and pseudo-retro Encounter Critical!] that has me really geeked to game again. I played D&D for the first time in (dang!) 17 years last weekend. 3.x, but it's the old school style games that fuel my excitement. Hence, neo-grognard.Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07615194097431562045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22704985741393062702008-04-18T11:23:00.000-04:002008-04-18T11:23:00.000-04:00Re: TheftI'm inclined to agree. I think, for examp...Re: Theft<BR/><BR/>I'm inclined to agree. I think, for example, that WotC should have given Blackmoor back to Dave Arneson, or at least allowed him to use the setting and its concepts royalty free in perpetuity. There is exactly zero chance that WotC will ever do anything with Blackmoor, so why should Hasbro get to lock the IP associated with it away forever? Mind you, I have no head for business, so I'm sure there are "good" reasons why magnanimity of this sort shouldn't be done. It's still a pity.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-21732271957154514202008-04-18T11:19:00.000-04:002008-04-18T11:19:00.000-04:00(Forgot to check notification of further replies.)...(Forgot to check notification of further replies.)Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16733274876782876659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6622619850209260232008-04-18T11:16:00.000-04:002008-04-18T11:16:00.000-04:00Sometimes I think the hobby would be better off wi...Sometimes I think the hobby would be better off without the industry. Wait...make that "often". (^_^)<BR/><BR/>As for theft: Personally, I'm more tempted to call the companies that force out the creative people but keep the intellectual property and ruthlessly exploit it thieves. Yeah, I know it's all legal. Yeah, the creative people usually made agreements and accepted some compensation. I still see "wrong" written all over it.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16733274876782876659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-65156881218946600382008-04-18T10:16:00.000-04:002008-04-18T10:16:00.000-04:00Re: MA PODThat's right! I'd forgotten about that. ...Re: MA POD<BR/><BR/>That's right! I'd forgotten about that. Do we have any idea when this'll be available? When I was a kid, I searched around for a copy of MA for the longest time and could never find one. Even now, I still check out eBay for copies but they're always at exorbitant prices, so I've given them a pass.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35011991743170958012008-04-18T10:11:00.000-04:002008-04-18T10:11:00.000-04:00When Jim and Craig re-release MA 1e as a POD book ...When Jim and Craig re-release MA 1e as a POD book <BR/>(which will happen before long), they will certainly have my $ support. I'm just not really interested in later versions. Craig does support retro-clone efforts, even if Jim doesn't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22221476903392956562008-04-18T10:08:00.000-04:002008-04-18T10:08:00.000-04:00Nice post, James. I agree with most of your observ...Nice post, James. I agree with most of your observations. I'm a big fan of the retro clone movement as well, if for nothing more then the preservation of the old school genre. It would certainly be great if Hasbro would make some of these older titles available (even if it were simply in a miniature format, ala the tiny book versions of the 1e DMG, PHB and MM from years back). Labyrinth Lord is by far my favorite of the retro-clones out there, because it's so true to the original. I doubt I'll ever actually use any retro-clones on a regular basis, but I appreciate the fact that they allow individuals to not only publish retro modules and settings, but to also possibly discover the advantages of D&D's earlier editions. As someone who uses little or no published material, I don't have much need for C&C, OSRIC, BFRPG, LL, etc. but I think they are important for the future of this hobby we all love.<BR/><BR/>That said, I have LL and have used it a half dozen times. Excellent piece of work by Dan Proctor!<BR/><BR/>~ShamSham aka Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14329116400656617173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-57139756293809176072008-04-18T10:06:00.000-04:002008-04-18T10:06:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Sham aka Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14329116400656617173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-57168349458967386682008-04-18T10:01:00.000-04:002008-04-18T10:01:00.000-04:00Re: "True" clone of GWMine as well. I know that Ke...Re: "True" clone of GW<BR/><BR/>Mine as well. I know that Kellri at K&K has expressed a desire to do this and I've offered my assistance if he needs it. Jim Ward, as I said, is opposed to this idea, preferring that people forget about GW and focus on his new MA instead. I understand his position, but the reality is that he doesn't own GW anymore and likely never will, so a clone is a surer way to guarantee that game's future than hoping WotC decides either to open it up or revert the rights back to him, neither of which seems at all likely to me.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11607311312973138742008-04-18T09:57:00.000-04:002008-04-18T09:57:00.000-04:00If someone can safely pull off a "true" clone of G...If someone can safely pull off a "true" clone of GW, all the power to them, they'd have my support!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31995184749139998232008-04-18T09:52:00.000-04:002008-04-18T09:52:00.000-04:00Re: Mutant FutureI understand and support what you...Re: Mutant Future<BR/><BR/>I understand and support what you're doing with the MF, Dan. I think it's a very reasonable way to go, particularly since you've already got LL out there and people obviously enjoy it. I remember, back in the day, being ticked off that GW 1e didn't use a system closer to D&D, so I am sympathetic to your decision.<BR/><BR/>At the same time, I think we do need a "true" clone of GW (and other games) out there, if only to preserve its DNA for the future. I have a sinking feeling that so much of the heritage of this hobby is going to wind up trapped in Hasbro's IP vaults, along with Avalon Hill's great wargames, never again to see the light of day. I would hate to see that occur, so the more OSRIC-like projects out there, the better.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58535597839750753612008-04-18T09:43:00.000-04:002008-04-18T09:43:00.000-04:00Yeah, Mutant Future isn't a direct clone.However, ...Yeah, Mutant Future isn't a direct clone.<BR/>However, GW 1e has a system that is a lot like Basic D&D, but with metric distances. When I was thinking about Mutant Future, I mulled over the clone issue a lot. To me, a retro-clone should be able to be compatible with its inspiration with very little work. In the end I felt that a science fantasy clone would need far too many changes in terminology to be easily used in this way, so that's why I'm not claiming MF is a "true" retro-clone. Also I wanted to make some systems more similar to Labyrinth Lord. Two things I never liked about GW 1e were the way radiation and poison were handled. Anyway, great blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44953435736712700952008-04-18T09:22:00.000-04:002008-04-18T09:22:00.000-04:00Re: Mutant FutureYes, true, it's not a true clone ...Re: Mutant Future<BR/><BR/>Yes, true, it's not a true clone of GW, but it's clearly meant to fill a similar niche. I do wish it were closer to GW myself, but I know there's someone working on a "true" clone of GW 1e, so maybe we'll see that before long.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-16013795290533691312008-04-18T07:23:00.000-04:002008-04-18T07:23:00.000-04:00I'm really looking forward to Mutant Future too, b...I'm really looking forward to Mutant Future too, but it's not a Gamma World Clone. It's based on the Labyrinth Lord rules, so really is a post-apocalypitc Moldvay/Cook D&D clone. <BR/><BR/><BR/>Just started reading your blog yesterday. Keep up the good work!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32160535577512366582008-04-18T03:42:00.000-04:002008-04-18T03:42:00.000-04:00I haven't been this excited about gaming since the...I haven't been this excited about gaming since the early 80's and I can only echo your comments:<BR/><BR/>"I'm increasingly of the opinion that the future of this hobby depends ever more on us than it does on game companies...the retro-clone movement is...quite literally preserving both the past and the future of our hobby."<BR/><BR/>Dave aka Greyharp :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-28423884210055309862008-04-18T01:24:00.000-04:002008-04-18T01:24:00.000-04:00I love the cloning movement so much. It makes me s...I love the cloning movement so much. It makes me six kinds of happy.Bruce Baughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05772802261241371619noreply@blogger.com