New at the show from was BESM D20, and the big news was that the whole rules content of the book is Open Gaming Content, not just the five percent or whatever demanded by the D20 System License. I had a long conversation with Mark MacKinnon about parallels between how the business of software has adapted to open source, versus how the game industry is still adapting. GOO’s new strategy is to type the rules up and put them online for you, so you’ll read them, spread them around, and eventually want to buy a gorgeous full-color hardcover and a mess of supplements. Two words: razors, blades. This strategy has a better shot of making some money in the games world than in the software world, actually. I hope it goes well for them, and the book is indeed gorgeous (and pricey in the deluxe edition). They were also selling the new Tri-Stat dX Core System, which allows you to dial the intensity of your game up or down by adding sides to the dice. If you know Tri-Stat, you’ll probably understand that better than I do. At the show, it was a dollar; for you people, it’ll be $9.95. Joy!