The esteemed Mr. Doctorow weighs in too.
Much like Pantone can’t own colors, Wizards of the Coast can’t own the concepts of rolling dice, HP, Orcs, etc.
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“… until the next time we try this, or our lawyers decide to interpret either the old version or the new version differently. But, please, trust us and don’t all run away to other projects that are actually putting promises into their license instead of just promising an interpretation of it!”
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The concessions Wizards and D&D make in this announcement are huge: it will not attempt to deauthorize the OGL 1.0a; it is putting the entirety of the Systems Reference Document for D&D 5.1 into the Creative Commons; and it is abandoning its previously stated intentions for Virtual Tabletops.
One thing to note is that Brink states that putting the entire 400-page SRD into the Creative Commons means that fans don’t need to “take [Dungeons & Dragons’] word for it.” That Brink would explicitly acknowledge the lack of trust between fans and publishers and Wizards of the Coast is incredible.
Finally, the company finished the statement with an olive branch, publishing the SRD immediately, and stating, “Here’s a PDF of SRD 5.1 with the Creative Commons license. By simply publishing it, we place it under an irrevocable Creative Commons license. We’ll get it hosted in a more convenient place next week. It was important that we take this step now, so there’s no question.”
That is a LOT of backpedaling in a rather short period of time. I suppose the question is, are there any other little time bombs laying around…
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This weekend, I decided to try something new. I saw a thread on another site asking about how ChatGPT might be used in gaming. And I just decided to give it a try.
I kickstartered the Old Gods of Appalachia RPG. It’s not done yet, but should be soon. I want to have some stuff ready for my group, so when it gets here we can just dive in and go with it. But I get writer’s block and was drawing a blank on where to start. I know a bit about modern Appalachia, but not much about a dark supernatural 1920s-era version of it.
So I asked ChatGPT. And much as expected the first few responses were fairly bland and equivocating, and not really useful. But starting from question 4, it really blew me away. It totally picked up on the theme, tone, and genre and started giving me so many ideas. And worded in a way that fits too!
It’s not perfect, but it totally put together a whole menu of ideas I could draw upon, and when I asked for more detail on some, it responded right in line with the intended tone and theme, and in detail.
I’m amazed, and can totally see this as a very valuable assistant to writers and GMs and such. Once you get it on your wavelength, it can just start bouncing ideas off you, and you can follow up on whichever ones you are interested in.
This AI is not going to replace people, but it is certainly going to empower them. Possibly enough to make being a creative a better-paying job choice. And it’s going to open opportunities for people who want to create games or write stories.
This is my transcript so far: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TUgmSlIlyv46eEbQy3qOpAhuQ_OTiwqV/view
Look at how simple it is.
And how interesting the followup is!
Me: Our main character encounters the moonshiners, but doesn’t do anything you suggested, and it doesn’t go well. They are after him, and he is running through the woods. He takes shelter in a run-down cabin which happens to have the enchanted banjo. What happens next?
ChatGPT: As the main character takes shelter in the run-down cabin, they may be surprised to find the enchanted banjo. The banjo may seem to call out to them, and they may feel compelled to play it. As they do so, the music may take on a life of its own, filling the cabin with a haunting melody that seems to draw on the power of the forest itself.
As the main character plays, they may feel the tension and fear of the encounter with the moonshiners begin to fade away. The music may seem to protect and guide them, leading them on a path through the forest that the moonshiners cannot follow. Along the way, they may encounter other mysterious creatures and spirits of the forest, but the music of the enchanted banjo keeps them safe.
However, there may be a heavy price to pay for the protection of the banjo. As the main character plays, they may feel their energy and strength draining away, and they may begin to see strange visions or experience eerie sensations. They may also realize that the banjo’s power is not entirely under their control, and that they may be called upon to perform tasks or make sacrifices in exchange for its help.
Overall, the enchanted banjo is a powerful and mysterious artifact, and the main character will need to navigate its powers and limitations carefully. While it may offer protection and guidance through the dangers of the forest, it may also demand a heavy price in exchange for its help, and its motives and loyalties may not be entirely clear.
And there’s more, but I’m not going to copy it all because this is already long.
the witch’s mirror is a dangerous tool, and it may not always reveal the truth. Its visions and revelations may be distorted or misleading, and the main character may find themselves drawn into dangerous and unpredictable situations as a result. They will need to use the mirror with great care and caution, and be prepared to face the consequences of what they learn from it.
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Returning to Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager. Managed to get to the moon without losing anyone, though it took until 1970.
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I don’t know where else to post this, so I’m posting it here. I am going to be doing one of the nerdiest things I’ve ever done next weekend. I’m going to a crossword puzzle tournament: Lollapuzzoola in NYC. Are there any other cruciverbalists here?
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Wait… is that what you call someone who does crossword puzzles? TIL!
Good luck!
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Yep. Well…the word also includes crossword puzzle constructors. Basically, anyone who is into crosswords.
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Makes sense. Someone who crucifies words, or someone with a lot of words who should be crucified…
What, the “cruci” just means “cross”? Naaaaah…
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So I went to Lollapuzzoola (the crossword puzzle tournament I mentioned) today and had a ton of fun. I’m very glad I went. I didn’t finish very high (141 out of 170 in the lower division) but I had fun and that’s all that matters. Some of those people are crazy fast at solving crosswords. Wow. They’re also just a really fun community. I’m definitely planning on making that an annual thing.
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That’s a motto to live by!
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Recently picked up the narrative game Scarlet Hollow, started with the first chapter (which is free) and then went on to pick up the full game, which has four out of seven chapters released so far.
Definitely not my usual kind of game, but I did get drawn into it. Essentially a choose-your-own-adventure book with lots of animated illustrations, and the character animations during conversations do a good job of conveying the character reactions to your choices and what’s happening. There’s a “creeping doom” theme that’s a bit like if H.P. Lovecraft wrote about crumbling southern mining towns instead of crumbling New England fishing towns. There are romance paths, but the options that fully start them are clearly marked and following them isn’t required.
One interesting facet is that you’re allowed to pick two “traits” out of a set of seven, and your picks can give both minor and major changes to the dialog options you have available. I’ve been having fun choosing pairs of traits to fit with fictional characters, and trying to choose dialog that fits as closely as I can - for instance one with “hot” and “talks with animals” that I named “Snow White”, and when, at one point, she’s asked where she lives I was able to choose “in an apartment with 10 roomates”, which, well… close enough 
.
Sadly, it looks like the next chapter won’t be out until next year, and there’s two more planned after, so it will be a while before the full story is available.
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That looks right up my alley. I like southern gothic / dark Appalachia. Added it to my list.
Have you played The Cat Lady? It’s more of a point-and-click adventure, but the graphics and sound and text really set a mood on the horror theme.
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Wow. I can’t imagine why would they even say that out loud, posted publicly and connected to their product? Maybe if they were talking about hiring a new designer for their KKK newsletter or something. But for literally anything else?
They clearly think that they’re in the majority and that will be a well-received diatribe. Which is sad on multiple levels.
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This browser-based game (which works on both mobile and desktop browsers) is a different kind of trust & safety simulator from the last game. While that game was about being a front line content moderator, this game is about actually running a trust & safety team for a rapidly scaling social media startup. You have to set policies, deal with various dilemmas, face internal and external pressures, weigh tradeoffs, determine resource allocation and more, all while trying to keep your website from descending into a cesspit of hate, driving away users and advertisers.
This is tangentially related to Elon Musk’s misadventures with Twitter. Interesting little game, the decisions can start to get complex pretty quick. My first attempt at a playthrough died early on “due to slow moderation speed” as I put too much load on the moderation team.
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I want to solo a steampunk campaign, starting with “The City at the Center of the Earth,” and continuing with “Red Sands.”
“City” starts in Germany, and I’m wondering if anyone knows of German science-fiction authors from the 19th century.
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I can’t handle music, but I’ like to see a Buffyverse campaign where El Diablo Robotico threatens to release a Chatbot, Imagebot, or Christmasmusicbot unless someone can teach him to play the violin.
“As we approach the winter long-- let us share our Christmas songs-- for a trillion years of joy!”
And it turns out El Diablo Robotico is not a robot built by the Devil, and is The Robot Devil.
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