Ok, there are gaming forums all over the place. It seems you can’t swing a google search without running amok of six or seven of them.
So the opening of the new “…Here Be Dragons” forum wouldn’t be a big deal. But they are doing something different with their forum.
Their mission statement looks a little different to me. From their press release:
Following many years of frustration with varying companies making slightly different rules for Tabletop Wargames, we have created the beginnings of a solution, and would like to invite the gaming community to join us.
“…here be dragons” marks the beginnings of a community led project to publish a widely accepted set of miniatures rules, for free, under a Creative Commons non-commercial license. It’s a lofty goal, as we also intend to develop a rich background in which to set the games – so no IP nightmares or corporate licensing need rear it’s head. We begin by looking at skirmish level Fantasy/Steampunk/Medieval genres – which should translate into the SciFi/Modern genre quite well if all goes to plan.
Isn’t that interesting? Personally, I’m not sure that the miniatures wargaming market is so full that we need a “One System to Rule them All” approach, but an open intellectual property could be a very good thing for miniatures games.
Now, they mention that this is a lofty goal, and they’re right. This is going to take a lot of work to create, and a lot more work to try and help it catch on. But it has potential to be spectacular.
I mean, a number of older games have become largely fan supported. Take a look at some of Games Workshop’s specialist line, that has grown into community project to support the systems that the fans love.
If you’re interested in contributing to this, head on over to herebedragons.darkbb.com and sign up for their forum.
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