Annoying Contrarians United-- the OSR and FOSS
Thanks to Yochai Gal and Josh Domanski, who both let me bother them with inane questions about this topic as I was writing this post
So, a couple weeks ago I was in a situation at work where I had to sit quietly at a desk for an extended period of time--not my typical workday. As my mind drifted from the task at hand, I found myself instead pondering a question that has been on my mind for the past few months:
How the fuck do I get Affinity Suite working on my laptop?
Pride before the fall
I'm an annoying Linux guy. I use Zorin on both my ageing desktop (9th gen Intel with a 1070 TI that I will use until it literally catches fire) and laptop (Framework 13, 11th gen Intel). My IRL friends have had it up to here with my instance that it's "never been easier" to switch to Linux, and how it "really isn't that bad" while I'm simultaneously delaying our weekly Overwatch session because my graphics drivers have decided to shit themselves.
Again.
I have many reasons why I like Linux. Most significantly: I'm a contrarian and I like being difficult. Secondly, I also am tired of big tech for the same reasons that everyone else is. And thirdly, I like being known as a difficult contrarian. I dunno, it gives me a perverse thrill to have somebody look at my desktop and go "what the fuck is that?" I'll stop short of saying it is "punk rock", even if I think of it like that in the secret part of my heart.
Does this make me an unfortunate "type of guy"? Undoubtedly. But I'm just trying to be honest with where I'm coming from here.
I also think that this might be part of why I like the OSR so much.
A Tangent on FOSS
FOSS, or Free and Open Source Software, is a type of software which is designed to be openly used, distributed, and modified by just about anyone. The Free Software foundation lists four "essential freedoms" which must be met in order for a piece of software to call themselves FOSS:
- The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish.
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others.
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others, and doing so the whole community may benefit from your changes.
I like these ideas. They appeal to my sense of anarchic justice.
Yes, you should be able to run it for whatever purpose you wish, when you wish. Yes, you should be able to change how it works without permission. Yes, you should be able to give copies away for free. And, yes, you should be able to share your modified versions.
Wait, am I talking about software, or am I talking about role-playing games?
Open VS Proprietary Gaming
A shout out to the team at Liminal Horror. They get the open source mindset, I think. Humour me for a moment and step through their website if you haven't already: https://liminalhorrorrpg.com/
Like, look at that homepage! Right from the top of the page, you have the core rules right there on the web-page. The Investigator Guide is Creative Commons! You have adventures! You have conversion rules! You have an embarrassment of riches regarding how you the reader can start to use this material. And it's all for free! Yes, they have links to where you can buy the PDFs and the physical versions, and some of the material there is under copyright, but you have more than enough to go from right there from the homepage, and tonnes that you can use for your own purposes. Literally enough for years of play, just out there freely.
And, of course, we can't talk about Liminal Horror without talking about its older sibling-system Cairn, which likewise has a website with everything you'd need to run it: https://cairnrpg.com/. Cairn goes even harder into the Creative Commons--you can even download the website's source-files. Just an extreme amount of generosity on display here.
These two games illustrate beautifully the benefits of an open source approach to game design. Liminal Horror is, of course, descended from Cairn. Without Cairn's generous Creative Commons status, we just would not have Liminal Horror in its current space. Open design begets more open design-- see FOSS principle #4.
I bring all of this up, of course, to contrast this with the experience of mainstream Dungeons and Dragons. Sure, 5E has a Creative Commons SRD, but I don't think anyone actually uses them to play the game, right? If you do, let me know--I'd be happy to be proven wrong on this one.
In contrast to the open approaches of the games I've just talked about, 5E loves paywalls, and has even started experimenting with what amounts to DLC All paid, all subscription based--sometimes both! And all wrapped up in a website that, despite the monumental budget I'm sure WOTC is spending on development, feels like absolute dog-shit to use. One of my friends exclusively runs games through Beyond, and I just want to print out an actual piece of paper, man...
Ideals meet reality
As you can see, I admire the hell out of both the FOSS community and game devs who make their stuff open source. I've taken steps in my live to make both of these aspects of my live align with these ideals. This blog is one such effort--rather than keep my thoughts in a walled garden like Bluesky or Discord, I want to make sure they're available. I also hope to publish future modules for free in blog form alongside their PDF releases. I also intend to do so as I update my previous work.
Which brings me to a roadblock--man, sometimes it's hard to use FOSS. I alluded to this earlier--with my friends frustrated by my Linux system breaking during gaming sessions. I admit--I am not the most technical guy. I just can't program, or even use the terminal effectively. I've tried, but I've come to an understanding that my dyslexia makes it almost impossible to do so at any reasonable speed. I need a system that has some tolerance for typos, and the Linux terminal is unforgiving in that respect.
But it's also publishing tools where I struggle, and the way in which proprietary software is the default in our spaces. For example: most module templates, such as the extraordinary Explorer's Design Template, default to Affinity or Indesign. FOSS alternatives, such as Scribus, are not a consideration. And I can't even fault them for this because Scribus fucking sucks, man.
Publishing Software--My nemesis
WAAAY back when I was writing my first module, I remember struggling with Scribus specifically. It's free. It does the job. But it fights you the whole way. Don't even get me started on the "story editor", which you have to use if you want to edit font types and sizes. I wound up using Microsoft Office of all things to get Thrown Voices out the door before the deadline set by the writing class I was enrolled in at the time, back when I was still using Windows but had not yet discovered Affinity.
Proprietary software also pops up in my work with Sprigs and Kindling (nominated for an Ennie BTW). I'd love to help out with layout in addition to my role as Editor, but the team's layout workflow is entirely in Affinity.
Which brings me back to the situation where I started this post.
Many people have tried to help me get Affinity working on my Linux machines. It's been a valiant effort, but the experience just isn't...right. Despite everyone's best efforts, Affinity through Wine crashes frequently and suffers from various visual glitches. I can use it, but it isn't comfortable.
Resolutions and Compromises
I guess this is the start of a journey to get proficient in Scribus? Or continue struggling with Wine? Or trying a different distribution (a sick part of me wants to try Arch) and hope that that fixes Wine? All of the above? Is there a concrete resolution even to get to? Or is this this a promise of continuous experimentation and play?
Mostly, I just wanted to spend some time articulating why I feel drawn to both FOSS and the OSR, and articulate what I think are some common ethics between them. I value openness and community collaboration. I don't want big business in my games, or in my tech. I want to participate in community, damn it, not consumption.
The drive for openness and freedom omnipresent in the current moment--or at least my algorithm seems to want me to think it is. I'm constantly getting blasted with Digital Minimalism and "Reclaim your life from tech" content. While I also think there is a danger in conflating consumerism with community (I see you--fountain pen subreddit and mechanical keyboard reels), I think that at the very least it's important to have one's heart in the right place.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to spend the next three hours trying to launch Overwatch in Proton before my friends hop online.
Peace!