Bootleg role-playing games
Encyclopedia
Bootleg role-playing games are unauthorised copies
of game instructions and gameplay rules of role-playing game
s. As with the music and video industries, the business of RPGs changed markedly in response to high-tech methods of illegal copying.
Unlike many other types of games, RPGs are nearly entirely text-based, requiring few non-standard components other than books. Because both the price and complexity of RPG books rose in the 1990s, a cottage industry grew around copying and distributing many copies from a single purchased copy.
pamphlets were published, players made copies, sometimes as simply as jotting down the rules in a binder. It becomes bootlegging
when the user copies large parts of the whole work via photocopying or other such methods. This method is losing popularity quickly, but it still occurs, particularly in areas where public libraries stock RPG sourcebooks.
The game industry came to live with this method of bootlegging, as it was largely untraceable and had little impact on sales. One copy could make another copy, but only through the same tedious process of copying the first one.
PDF
. From there, it can be easily distributed over the internet.
The problem of RPG bootlegging from a developer's standpoint is very hard to stop, particularly with most bookstores' loose attitude towards people reading in their establishments. Some claim it be a problem best left unchecked, since those that bootleg are likely to buy some of the publisher's products eventually, and might leave their chosen system for one of the many free RPG systems available online if the publishers were to crack down on bootleggers.
and other economic issues of RPGs, Wizards of the Coast
released an Open Gaming License
adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, known as the d20 System
. This system allows players to acquire a copy of the core rules of any d20 system
game (such as D&D) for free. The result allows anyone to participate in such games without having to pay the high cost of acquiring a printed copy of the rules, or risk the legal and ethical ramifications of acquiring them through illegal means.
Steve Jackson Games
has also released a 32-page PDF containing the core rules of their GURPS
system, titled GURPS Lite.
Supplements to these games are not free.
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
of game instructions and gameplay rules of role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s. As with the music and video industries, the business of RPGs changed markedly in response to high-tech methods of illegal copying.
Unlike many other types of games, RPGs are nearly entirely text-based, requiring few non-standard components other than books. Because both the price and complexity of RPG books rose in the 1990s, a cottage industry grew around copying and distributing many copies from a single purchased copy.
Hard copying
Since the first Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
pamphlets were published, players made copies, sometimes as simply as jotting down the rules in a binder. It becomes bootlegging
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
when the user copies large parts of the whole work via photocopying or other such methods. This method is losing popularity quickly, but it still occurs, particularly in areas where public libraries stock RPG sourcebooks.
The game industry came to live with this method of bootlegging, as it was largely untraceable and had little impact on sales. One copy could make another copy, but only through the same tedious process of copying the first one.
Electronic copying
The game industry could not ignore the rise of another method of bootlegging, namely scanning the entire book into an electronic format, typically as an Adobe AcrobatAdobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
. From there, it can be easily distributed over the internet.
The problem of RPG bootlegging from a developer's standpoint is very hard to stop, particularly with most bookstores' loose attitude towards people reading in their establishments. Some claim it be a problem best left unchecked, since those that bootleg are likely to buy some of the publisher's products eventually, and might leave their chosen system for one of the many free RPG systems available online if the publishers were to crack down on bootleggers.
Responses to bootlegging
In response to bootleggingCopyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
and other economic issues of RPGs, Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
released an Open Gaming License
Open Gaming License
The Open Game License may be used by game developers to grant permission to modify, copy, and redistribute some of the content designed for their games, notably game mechanics.-Language of the licence:The OGL describes two forms of content:...
adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons, known as the d20 System
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
. This system allows players to acquire a copy of the core rules of any d20 system
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
game (such as D&D) for free. The result allows anyone to participate in such games without having to pay the high cost of acquiring a printed copy of the rules, or risk the legal and ethical ramifications of acquiring them through illegal means.
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
has also released a 32-page PDF containing the core rules of their GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
system, titled GURPS Lite.
Supplements to these games are not free.