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Well, because the web, by nature, is open. Javascript is source, not some kind of bytecode. You can easily look at the source of any web page and do whatever yo

by udp 15y ago

Well, because the web, by nature, is open. Javascript is source, not some kind of bytecode. You can easily look at the source of any web page and do whatever you want with it (granted there are obfuscators available, but run it through a tidier and it's at least easier to work with than assembler would be). It's not that you can't steal games from other platforms, it's just that targeting HTML5 makes it ridiculously easy. I think the web being "open" is a great thing, but obviously it's a genuine concern for people who distribute games. There's already a big problem in the Flash circles of strange Chinese portals stealing a game and sticking their logo on it. It's not just about the code, either - all the assets (images, sound) pretty much have to be readily available in an unobfuscated format.

TomGullen 15y ago
I think you can argue that this is largely offset by the opportunity the web as a platform can offer you and your games. Theft of assets is definitely an issue. We've actually been targeted ourselves by someone stealing and reselling our product. It's a pretty upsetting and difficult situation so we sympathise with the concerns. What we learnt from our experience however is the thief was largely incompetent and didn't actually pose as much of a risk as we thought he would to our operations. I think often the same can apply for theft of assets, it's upsetting that someone steals in in one swoop without any thought and appears to be making money from it, but most of the time they are struggling to make anything at all from your work. If someone more successfully is stealing from you there are a lot of options to take it further if it becomes economically viable. For the majority of developers though I don't think it's as big a concern as many people think it is. Although I'm sure there are some good counter examples and arguments against this.
gte910h 15y ago
>not some kind of bytecode Have you ever tried to reverse engineer/figure out the details of any of google's compiled javascript? It's pretty damn obtuse.

by udp 15y ago

TomGullen 15y ago

I think you can argue that this is largely offset by the opportunity the web as a platform can offer you and your games. Theft of assets is definitely an issue. We've actually been targeted ourselves by someone stealing and reselling our product. It's a pretty upsetting and difficult situation so we sympathise with the concerns. What we learnt from our experience however is the thief was largely incompetent and didn't actually pose as much of a risk as we thought he would to our operations. I think often the same can apply for theft of assets, it's upsetting that someone steals in in one swoop without any thought and appears to be making money from it, but most of the time they are struggling to make anything at all from your work. If someone more successfully is stealing from you there are a lot of options to take it further if it becomes economically viable. For the majority of developers though I don't think it's as big a concern as many people think it is. Although I'm sure there are some good counter examples and arguments against this.

gte910h 15y ago

>not some kind of bytecode Have you ever tried to reverse engineer/figure out the details of any of google's compiled javascript? It's pretty damn obtuse.