Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (
More info?)
Nick Vargish wrote:
> "One Punch Mickey" <fantantiddlyspan@hotmail.com> writes:
>
>
>>http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=6412
>
>
> Fans: We love Duke! Let's make a game with Duke in it!
>
> 3DRealms: Screw you -- if we can't make a game with Duke in it,
> neither can you. Nyaaaah!
>
> What a bunch of losers they are over at 3D Realms. They've gone from
> making a game to suing people who are tired of waiting for the
> game. Weak.
I'd say the opposite was true. Here's why.
First of all, 3d Realms has to protect its copyrights. That's not a
matter of maintaining a fan base, or "good relations." It's a function
of copyright law. If someone uses your material without your permission,
and you _don't_ try to protect it, then it's harder to convince a court
to help you protect your copyright elsewhere. Gamers can complain all
they want about fair use, about paying homage to a great game, and how
their mod's not out there to make money... but this is a fact about
copyright law.
As far as "losers" are concerned... well, let's look at the people
making the Duke mod. Here are people who were prepared to spent hours
and hours of time remaking an old computer game in the engine of
another. They weren't trying to create a _new_ game. They weren't trying
to create a simple deathmatch level. They weren't even trying to
simulate a movie in a mod, a la the _Star Wars_ mods. And this wasn't a
mod that was likely to boost any of 3dRealms's sales-- in fact, if
anyone else felt a burning desire to play the mod, Valve'd get the
money, not 3Realms. These kids wanted to run the original Duke under
Source-- for what reason, I just can't fathom. And when one can run Duke
anyway, what's the point?
This isn't like creating a version of Pac-Man for Windows, or recreating
Pong for a Unix system. Those don't take tremendous expenditures of time
and effort, and can even be engaging programming exercises. And some of
those old-school games are so old that seeing them _again_ has some
novelty value. Doesn't apply here.
The only thing even _less_ ambitious is the project to recreate the
original Doom levels within the new Doom3 engine. The original Doom
engine was great for its time, but why recreate the original's limited
levels in such an advanced engine?
But it's the pointlessness of the job, and the lack of ambition on the
part of this bunch of gamers, that indicates to me that they're probably
more deserving of the title "loser."
By the way, the fact that 3dRealms has taken so long on DNF has
_nothing_ to do with this. Their delays don't strip them of any
copyrights they hold.
-1),' Ojdl!Wbshjti!=obwAcboefstobudi/psh?')
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram