[mdlug] Suggestions for games for an elderly parent? Starcraft

[Ingles, Raymond]

> From: Wolfger

> That's the gaping hole in FOSS: great games. It takes more
> effort to design a cutting edge game than any team of people is
> willing to put into it for free.

 Like I said earlier in this discussion, games are a special economic
niche. They're more like movies or books or music than tools - they are
creative works. The FOSS model which works so well for tools is not a
perfect fit for creative works. There are analogous schemes like the
Creative Commons licenses, though.

 Consider movies. Making an A-List Blockbuster Movie takes a *lot* of
money and time and talent. To get something about 80% as polished as a
Hollywood production is pretty cheap, but after that, each bump in
quality requires exponentially more money. A similar curve applies to
games.

 Indie movies can be very creative, and occasionally produce a real
winner, though. Sometimes working within the limitations can force
creativity. (See, e.g., the indie sci-fi movie "Primer".) Likewise with
indie games, even FOSS ones. Making a Half-Life 2 is simply beyond a
single person or part-time group. 

 That reality has some implications. It's why I'm willing to put up with
non-restrictive DRM for some games. It also means that, eventually,
games may be the only software people regularly buy. (*Companies* will
buy software, but they won't buy games.)

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles                                                  (313)
227-2317

 "It's ironic that spooks so often remind us that we've got nothing to
fear
    from their activities if we've got nothing nasty to hide, while they
    themselves are rarely comfortable without multiple layers of
secrecy,
           anonymity and plausible deniability." - Thomas Greene
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