
Open Source Game Clones - adamnemecek
http://osgameclones.com
======
MeVfm
I understand why publishers don't freely license their game engines (e.g.,
under the GPL): if users and the gaming community had the ability to modify
the games they purchased and create their own content, companies wouldn't be
able to get away with selling horse armor DLC, releasing yearly rehashes of
the same game, locking purchasers out of their own games with DRM, or
sabotaging their own games ( [http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/6450/ubisoft-
gimping-watch...](http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/6450/ubisoft-gimping-
watch-dogs-on-pc-opened-a-can-of-worms-for-pc-gamers/index.html) ). I don't
see any merit in the "stopping piracy" routine you might hear; DRM has never
done anything to prevent unauthorized sharing on PC, and art assets aren't any
easier or harder to share if the engines are free software. Proprietary
software is purely an instrument of control by the publishers over the users
in order to keep short-term profits high, even if it means mistreating the
customer.

But why don't we see more companies following in id's footsteps and re-
licensing old engines as free software? It keeps interest high and people
coming back to purchase the art assets needed to run the games. There are
several games on Steam that continue to sell well under this model (e.g., Duke
Nukem 3D, Doom 3)

~~~
dsirijus
Now this might sound like a rude and blunt answer but it's true - it's because
most of those other engines suck.

This is coming from game dev trenches. :)

~~~
MeVfm
That doesn't really make a difference though, does it? The community has shown
at every opportunity that it loves being able to hack with game software. A
small group of volunteers has even completely rebuilt Morrowind from SCRATCH!
Even if the original code sucks, I think people would love to be able to hack
it, port it, and play with it. This sort of activity can only lead to
increased sales for original publisher, who otherwise would never get anything
after their game falls into obscurity.

~~~
dsirijus
I'm not saying it wouldn't be (probably) better if they did release it but
that the fact that they do not isn't surprising.

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joshvm
Should point out that OpenTTD is also an excellent open source engine for
Transport Tycoon, fixing many quirks and irritations in the original game.

It's not truly open source because it requires the original files, but then
they've listed emulators for ScummVM and the Infinity engine, so I don't see
the difference.

~~~
MeVfm
> It's not truly open source because it requires the original files,

Art assets are not software, if that's what you're talking about. Character
design, dialogue, plotlines, etc. will remain under copyright even if you do
go in and replace every image and sound with freely licensed art.

~~~
dmm
The Debian project believes things like art and sound files and documentation
are software. The FSF does not.

~~~
MeVfm
I know the Debian project only officially supports art assets that are in the
public domain or licensed under a Creative Commons style license, but I can't
imagine they actually consider these things software. Can you show me where
they call these things software? Because if that's true, I find that use of
terminology to be quite ridiculous.

Stallman thinks all users should be able to share and remix artwork freely,
btw.

~~~
dmm
Sorry for disappearing for a couple days.

I'm well aware of Stallman's subtle and well developed stance with respect to
human freedom and software, art, and documentation and I think it's perfectly
consistent and reasonable.

The Debian project has adopted a stance that everything distributed as a part
of the project should come with a set of rights, whether it's executable
programs, game textures, or documentation.

Every part of Debian must conform to the Debian Free Software Guidelines, even
if it's just a text document describing a library. So text files are
considered software in Debian for purposes of the DFSG. That's all I was
implying by saying that Debian considers non-executable parts of a project to
be software.

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ZenoArrow
I would say that AM2R deserves to be on this list (it's a remake of Metroid
2): [http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/p/about-
project.html](http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/p/about-project.html)

~~~
gnuvince
Is it open source though? I agree it's a terrific game (I was really impressed
by DragonDarch's speedrun back in April/May for a Metroid marathon), but I
can't find a link to get the code and build it myself.

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shmerl
Recent addition of The Neverhood to ScummVM is a great release.

~~~
dsirijus
I still listen to Terry S. Taylor's soundtrack to it on basically a regular
basis.

~~~
shmerl
Same here ;)

~~~
dsirijus
Then you upvote! Like I did!

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pervycreeper
(Originally) open source games seem to be a lot less popular than their
commercial counterparts. I wonder if there is any systematic reason for why
this might be true, or if it's just a matter of the different ways in which
their creators invest effort in their creations.

