[ANNOUNCE] Umbra role-playing game 0.2 pre-alpha

[Brandon J. Van Every]

"Chris Gonnerman" <chris.gonnerman at usa.net> wrote in message
news:mailman.987831694.4674.python-list at python.org...
> >Your copyright protects you exactly
> > > as much with or without the source code.
> >
> > Is that a deliberately dumb comment, or are you just unaware that one of
> > the rights of copyright is the right to make derivative works?
>
> Yes, I am aware of that fact, and I am also aware that the right is not
> automatically granted.  If he writes his license correctly (from his POV,
> allowing no derivative works) then my assertion is correct.

No, it is not correct.  If he does not license anyone to create derivative
works, then anyone who creates derivative works is in violation of his
copyright.  Keeping the source code hidden raises the bar on the amount of
work that's required to create a derivative work.  Sure, there are
decompilers, but it is much easier to create a derivative work if you have
the original source code.  Any claim to the contrary is not real world.  In
practice, copyright protection means (1) having the force of the law on your
side, (2) making things difficult for people who want to break the law.

> True.  But in the real world, harder transgressions simply attract more
> determined transgressors.

That's a lot of meaningless woulda coulda shoulda.

Here's an analogous example regarding software piracy.  In the commercial
games industry, the more difficult you make it for a cracker to pirate
something, the longer it takes them to do so.  Even though the crack will
most likely appear eventually, you can buy yourself extra months of sales
time.  Most games sell the most units in their first 3 months of release.
In the current brick-and-mortar retail model, if you can create a 3 month
window where no crack is available, you have solved 80% of the problem.  See
the May 2001 issue of GameDeveloper for an anecdotal article on this.  Now,
this tactic breaks down if you're going to sell your game over a very long
period of time, i.e. if you're a big hit.  One of 10 titles in a given year
that can be a big hit.  But even then, your strategy can be bolstered by
releasing add-ons that again must be properly licensed.

You might say, oh, we're not talking software piracy, we're talking creating
derivative works in Python!  It's so much easier!  Well, it's also
correspondingly less prestigious.  Pirates are heavily organized to crack
commercial games.  Nobody's organized to rip off amateur Python games by
creating derivative works.  Consequently, denying the source code is very
likely to be an ironclad protection strategy in practice.  Until Mark
produces something really really really good, gets his game played by lots
and lots and lots of people, and everybody wants to be just like it.

I was a bit uncivil the first time, and for that I apologize.  My
Idiot-O-Meter redlined when I read several things in this thread, and to be
honest your assertion was the least of them.  As you can see I've cast my
aspersions in several directions.  Allow me to state the case more politely:
You're Wrong [TM].  The commercial games industry has proven you Wrong, and
you will remain, Wrong.


--
Cheers,                                     www.3DProgrammer.com
Brandon Van Every                           Seattle, WA

For plot and pace, writers use words; game designers use numbers.
Anything understood over time has plot and pace.