[BadVista Advocate] A few thoughts on games

Fri May 4 09:58:05 EDT 2007

Actually you have a good point, but you are coming at the 'Games' problem from 
a different view point then mine.

You see that's what I said in #1 : closed source.

Inherently I simply do not believe in artificial sacristy as being a valid 
business model. And if the only way for any business to make money is by 
creating artificial sacristy, then their business model should die. For me it 
is that simple.

Yes I am aware that what I just said will be heard by some as "You are taking 
the food out of my mouth!". What I'm really saying is find a different 
business model.

It is actually very friendly and well meant advice. Much as I would have given 
to the local Stage Coach line in the old west, as I saw the train coming 
closer inch by inch and mile by mile.

History is simply chock full of similar examples --and littered with dead 
business models, that today we laugh about and say "wow were they ever 
foolish. They could have turned their company from a hay storage loft into a 
wood storage yard, to feed those steam engines on the trains." and each 
consecutive example down the line : Wood Yard into diesel storage facility, 
etc, etc.

The notion of using a general purpose, user owned, device, i.e., the computer 
as a horribly restricted  controlled by some other entity, i.e., Microsoft, 
is not going to continue to be a valid business model for it relies on 
conditions that are rapidly fading into the past.

The first rule people learn, as part of life, is that what you totally 
control, you own. Or to put it more concisely: What you can destroy with 
impunity, you own.

The lesson that is emerging now is one of people discovering they are 
empowered to destroy that which once they could not.

The prime example today would be Digg. It will be interesting to see how Digg 
manages to survive. Yes I'm pleased to see they gave up and said they would 
stop trying to take down the number. All that did was leave them at the TOTAL 
mercy of the AACS-LA, who can now sue them out of existence.

No I don't like that thought either, but that is the reality of the DMCA. See 
this article by the EFF: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005229.php

So yes the users discovered power --the company that owns Digg simply realized 
that it was over either way, users would destroy it, or the AACS-LA would 
destroy it if it went along with the users.

It is going to be interesting to see how this works out. The only thing that 
may save Digg now is if the AACS-LA wises up enough to not want any more user 
revolt in areas that would actually seriously hurt them (the AACS-LA).

You see that is what we are living through right now. A revolution. If the 
human race wins, then business based on artificial scarcity will lose. If the 
business that rely on artificial sacristy win, then the rest of us become 
slaves.

You might wish to read this: The Grand Unified Theory On The Economics Of Free 
http://techdirt.com/articles/20070503/012939.shtml

It would help to read the entire series.

So that is where I come from, goodbye to artificial sacristy, hello to a 
better world.

For the first time in all of human history, we stand at the door to a society 
of plenty.

This is a brand new thing for us, it will come unevenly, and in many ways 
painfully, at first only a few will understand the change. I do not expect to 
live long enough to see the society of plenty bloom.

But I damn well intend to do my best to insure that it is not still born. And 
if that means some people having to learn a new business model, well them's 
the breaks.

No one can say I (and others) are not trying to warn them. They can save 
themselves if they want.

Yes this IS a war. It is being fought every day all around the globe. Be aware 
of it, think about which world you would like to live in --artificial 
sacristy or a society of plenty.

And you probably thought the issue of games was important to me or people like 
me, because of what I wrote about them.

Actually it's just a way to get people to start thinking about some rather 
more important stuff. 

Thanks for reading my little ramble. See what happens when you get an old man 
started...

Don.
 *******************************
 On Friday 04 May 2007 01:56 am, Sunnz wrote:
Another tricky thing to develop games on Linux is GPL.

Ok, I don't know that much about the underlying workings of GNU, so I
am on the assumption that a lot of programming API and libraries on
Linux are licensed under GPL, and if you make use of the API and libs,
your game would be a derivative software and have to license under
GPL.

The implication of GPL is that you are free to distribute the
software, binary and/or source code... companies who have invest large
sum of money wouldn't want to do this, perhaps it is ok to open source
the code, but they certainly want people to pay for each copy.

And if they somehow develop their game without the use of GPL'd libs,
there would be a lot of wheel re-invention going on, therefore
increase cost for the unfortunate, minority of their target.

Please correct any mistakes, I am basing this on assumptions about GNU
 libs...

2007/5/4, Lam YongXian <news at adolflam.com>:
> > Most of us here understand that the reason a lot of games are only
> > available
> > on Microsoft platforms has to do with 3 things:
> >
> > 1. Closed source code
> >
> > 2. Dependencies on proprietary ancillary code (.net, Direct X, etc.)
> >
> > 3. (Microsoft FUD): Fear that all us GNU/Linux bad guys will steal the
> > game...
> > Pirates all.
> >
> > Well think about this for a minute.
> >
> > All Windows games that can be played on just a single computer --not
> > Internet
> > dependent on some outside server, have already been cracked --and not by
> > GNU/Linux guys --we don't use Windows so what would we do with a Windows
> > game, even if it was cracked? So it's Windows bad guys that are cracking
> > (pirating) Windows games, not all of us.
> >
> > So #3 simply has no bearing on GNU/Linux users at all, for any Windows
> > game
> > that is ... lets call it 'self contained'.
> >
> > Now as to games that are not 'self contained'. Well, all of those have
> > tons of
> > cheats... the list of cheat sheet sites for any Windows game or games is
> > simply endless. So 'Windows only' games come down to he who cheats best
> > wins.
> >
> > Now ask your self if that really makes any sense to play a game that only
> > by
> > cheating can you really get somewhere at the game?
> >
> > Free Software games, on the other hand, are not likely to have 'cheats'
> > as a
> > practical part of the game --at least not for long, because either some
> > one
> > will patch it so that is no longer possible, or they may simply
> > incorporate
> > it into the game for the use of everyone (it becomes a feature that
> > really is
> > a new feature).
> >
> > Makes Free Software games a lot more fun because you can play it with a
> > lot of
> > faith that how you do will be based on your ability to play --not the
> > other
> > guy's ability to cheat.
> >
> > This relies on having the source available to all, which is why #1 is a
> > stopper for us GNU/Linux types. Honesty is only insured by transparency.
> >
> > That only leaves problem #2... Well after a little thought about problems
> > #1
> > and #3, it becomes sort of obvious that #2 only exists to insure vendor
> > lock
> > in --not for the game, for the real vendor that wants everyone locked in
> > --Microsoft.
> >
> > So if you want to play Microsoft's games (they are too, if you can only
> > play
> > them on Microsoft's OS, no matter who they nominally 'belong' to), then
> > by all means do so.
> >
> > Just don't complain that GNU/Linux is bad because you can't play
> > Microsoft's
> > games on it... We like it that way, for all the above reasons --and a few
> > more that have more of a philosophical nature (like understanding what
> > losing
> > Freedom means).
> >
> > So that's my two cents on Microsoft's games.
> >
> > Don.
> > --
> > GNU/Linux is the future.
> > Join the FSF: http://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=4458
> > Get the Real Facts: http://BadVista.org
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Advocate mailing list
> > Advocate at badvista.org
> > http://badvista.fsf.org/mailman/listinfo/advocate
>
> It is ridiculous that one must insert a disc to play the game every time,
> even though he has the 'license' to play it. And it is also technically
> not necessary to have the disc in tray.
>
> "If they don't trust you, why should you trust them?"
>
> ---
> Lam YongXian
> Adolflam.com
>
> FSF member #5279
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
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