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Topic Starter Topic: A Open Source Computergame

Recruit
Recruit
Joined: 01 Apr 2005
Posts: 2
PostPosted: 04-01-2005 08:04 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


to make it short: I want to create a free/Open Source Computergame.

What´s an open source game?
A completely free game (free as in freedom) is based on two things:
1. A open source game engine
Open Source means everyone can modify the code and distribute it freely. Popular examples of Open Source Apps are Firefox and Open Office. But there are already some playable engines out there: Doom 1 and 2, Quake 1 and 2. Soon Quake 3 code will be released under GPL and it will become open source too.

2. Open Content
Content is very important for computergames. Without textures, maps, models etc. you wouldn´t be able to play the game. Content should be free because it gives everybody the power to enhance the game. Example: If you don´t like some of the textures used in the game, you can just change them and distribute the complete game again with your changes.

Pro arguments for free games:
- It´s free as in free beer - everyone can download it
- everyone can distribute it
- the game will be free because no publisher / developer can hold back the code

Open Source Games are hard to find. The only playable 3D Shooter I know of is "Open Quartz" ( http://openquartz.sourceforge.net/ ), a game based on the old quake 1 engine.

But soon there will be the Quake 3 engine open sourced! So the game engine for a really goodlooking free computergame is there. All we need now is free content.

I suggest the Creative Commons ShareAlike licence ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ ) for content because it gives everyone the necessary freedom to do he wants with the content (copyleft) and still credits the creator. Other content that is released under that licence would be easy to integrate into the project.

the problem is: There is no content that have the correct licence. Most of the time the readme states: "This texture package is free to use. Copyright by John Smith." But it should be "This texture package is released under the Creative Commons ShareAlike licence and is free to use. You have to mention the creator John Smith."

I just want you (as a content developer) to think about it: What licence do you use? A full copyright, so everybody has to ask you for permission to use it? Or a copyleft licence, where everybody can freely improve your work?

cheers
chris




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I'm the dude!
I'm the dude!
Joined: 04 Feb 2002
Posts: 12498
PostPosted: 04-01-2005 06:10 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Keep in mind that if it's a multiplayer game... and you have it completely open sourced and it becomes really popular, you'll get cheaters like crazy.



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