5 ms·

This is a poor article since few readers will have any idea what point he is making. No references are provided nor insights into what exactly is meant by sayin

This is a poor article since few readers will have any idea what point he is making. No references are provided nor insights into what exactly is meant by saying they don't support their creators. Is it a comment about the studios having gone out of business because subsequent titles were not as popular? Is it an acknowledgment of the fact most game developers work long hours for below market rate pay, and receive no royalties for their creations? Is it a comment that distributors like Steam, or corporate fat cats take all the money? No idea.

teamonkey 15y ago
I think it's supposed to be a list of games where it's 'fair game' to pirate them because the creators no longer directly receive income from sales. Which is short-sighted and, in at least one case, completely wrong. LA Noire was a long, expensive project headed up by Team Bondi. TB has since folded, mainly due to mismanagement and going crazily over-budget, but they weren't the only people working on it. The project was bought and published by Rockstar/Take Two, who also drafted in their own creators to help finish the game, who didn't get laid off, and sales of LA Noire help to pay for their salaries.
- droithomme 15y ago
  Thanks! If that is really his point he should state it because I agree with you, and if this is his point, I would like to argue against the claim. But since he doesn't say what it is he is asserting, one can't even argue against it very well because the obvious rebuttal would of course be "Well I never said that." Such a passive aggressive article really has no place here if that's the case!
gioele 15y ago
> This is a poor article since few readers will have any idea what point he is making. The author explicitly states that the text should be taken as an aseptic catalogue of facts: > Below I present an incomplete list of PC games where the developers no longer receive payment for their creations. I wont offer an editorial, think of it what you will. (emphasis mine)
- Dylan16807 15y ago
  Claiming lack of opinion in performing an action is nothing but a cop-out.
  - nitrogen 15y ago
    So what do you make of Wikipedia's NPOV policy? Surely there must be people out there providing information just for the sake of information.
    - teamonkey 15y ago
      Wikipedia has an opinion, which it clearly states. It wants to be a free encyclopedia, which it can only do if the information is nominally unbiased.
  - droithomme 15y ago
    I agree, especially as a blog post with such a list. This seems dangerously close to a case where someone is listing the home addresses of animal lab researchers and whether they have been assassinated yet or not, then puts "this page for informational purposes only". It seems like the person might be advocating criminal activity, but then has some wishy washy words to cop out on taking responsibility for it. Stating what his purpose is in posting such a list would clear up a lot of questions. Maybe he is calling for more companies to establish royalty payments for artists and developers on the project, much as hollywood does for their projects. If that's the case it's a great idea! But who knows, it's just a list, being passed around the internet. It's certainly true that some are claiming it's an invitation for them to take the games without paying. That may even be the most common interpretation. If he didn't intend that, he should clear up the misunderstanding. Along with explain his sources other than to say they are secret.
dpcan 15y ago
He just says, here is a list, think about it. Which we did, so, mission accomplished IMO ;) All I can think is, if I had the rights to, and assets form a great old game that many loved, I'd be working my butt off right now to rescript it for release on mobile app stores. It would be like a second wind of revenue. Why the Sierra adventure games like kings quest, space quest, and police quest never came out on wii ware is beyond me. Not to mention iOS. Just look at the success of grisly manor.
- ido 15y ago
  While that might work with adventure games, a lot of games are simply impossible to do well on a tiny screen, with an inaccurate finger-on-touch-screen interface (imagine playing starcraft on an iphone).
  - icebraining 15y ago
    Might be doable on an iPad, though. I'd play Theme Hospital on one.
    - ido 15y ago
      Right, that one doesn't require precision or tight-timing. Basically anything turn based or slow is doable.
- droithomme 15y ago
  You make great points. Many games like Myst are doing well as mobile apps. Somebody has to own the rights to these old titles, right? If a company folds up and doesn't sell it, who owns the IP? I don't know the answer to that. Without a solid answer, perhaps even original creators can't do anything with it.

teamonkey 15y ago

I think it's supposed to be a list of games where it's 'fair game' to pirate them because the creators no longer directly receive income from sales. Which is short-sighted and, in at least one case, completely wrong. LA Noire was a long, expensive project headed up by Team Bondi. TB has since folded, mainly due to mismanagement and going crazily over-budget, but they weren't the only people working on it. The project was bought and published by Rockstar/Take Two, who also drafted in their own creators to help finish the game, who didn't get laid off, and sales of LA Noire help to pay for their salaries.

droithomme 15y ago
Thanks! If that is really his point he should state it because I agree with you, and if this is his point, I would like to argue against the claim. But since he doesn't say what it is he is asserting, one can't even argue against it very well because the obvious rebuttal would of course be "Well I never said that." Such a passive aggressive article really has no place here if that's the case!

gioele 15y ago

> This is a poor article since few readers will have any idea what point he is making. The author explicitly states that the text should be taken as an aseptic catalogue of facts: > Below I present an incomplete list of PC games where the developers no longer receive payment for their creations. I wont offer an editorial, think of it what you will. (emphasis mine)

Dylan16807 15y ago
Claiming lack of opinion in performing an action is nothing but a cop-out.
- nitrogen 15y ago
  So what do you make of Wikipedia's NPOV policy? Surely there must be people out there providing information just for the sake of information.
  - teamonkey 15y ago
    Wikipedia has an opinion, which it clearly states. It wants to be a free encyclopedia, which it can only do if the information is nominally unbiased.
- droithomme 15y ago
  I agree, especially as a blog post with such a list. This seems dangerously close to a case where someone is listing the home addresses of animal lab researchers and whether they have been assassinated yet or not, then puts "this page for informational purposes only". It seems like the person might be advocating criminal activity, but then has some wishy washy words to cop out on taking responsibility for it. Stating what his purpose is in posting such a list would clear up a lot of questions. Maybe he is calling for more companies to establish royalty payments for artists and developers on the project, much as hollywood does for their projects. If that's the case it's a great idea! But who knows, it's just a list, being passed around the internet. It's certainly true that some are claiming it's an invitation for them to take the games without paying. That may even be the most common interpretation. If he didn't intend that, he should clear up the misunderstanding. Along with explain his sources other than to say they are secret.

dpcan 15y ago

He just says, here is a list, think about it. Which we did, so, mission accomplished IMO ;) All I can think is, if I had the rights to, and assets form a great old game that many loved, I'd be working my butt off right now to rescript it for release on mobile app stores. It would be like a second wind of revenue. Why the Sierra adventure games like kings quest, space quest, and police quest never came out on wii ware is beyond me. Not to mention iOS. Just look at the success of grisly manor.

ido 15y ago
While that might work with adventure games, a lot of games are simply impossible to do well on a tiny screen, with an inaccurate finger-on-touch-screen interface (imagine playing starcraft on an iphone).
- icebraining 15y ago
  Might be doable on an iPad, though. I'd play Theme Hospital on one.
  - ido 15y ago
    Right, that one doesn't require precision or tight-timing. Basically anything turn based or slow is doable.
droithomme 15y ago
You make great points. Many games like Myst are doing well as mobile apps. Somebody has to own the rights to these old titles, right? If a company folds up and doesn't sell it, who owns the IP? I don't know the answer to that. Without a solid answer, perhaps even original creators can't do anything with it.