gunsmoke on 15/2/2012 at 16:36
Quote Posted by Shadowcat
Nice! Thanks, gunsmoke.
edit: <a href="http://www.jameswoodcock.co.uk/content/scummvm-music-enhancement-project/">more here</a>
You're welcome. It really is a nice add-on to an already great game. Considering the game is free, even on GOG, this is a must play for all. Especially those with even a passing interest in dystopic sci-fi and adventure games.
EvaUnit02 on 16/2/2012 at 23:02
Well no shit, of course former employees of long closed studios won't see a dime from game sales. Piracy would still be piracy and I'm not going to do it if the game is readily and widely available legally.
gunsmoke on 17/2/2012 at 13:55
Just because you know it...other people argue about this all the time.
N'Al on 17/2/2012 at 17:45
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
...other people argue about this all the time.
Which, quite frankly, I find utterly mind-boggling. Why anyone would think that - under normal circumstances - there's even the slightest
possibility that an ex-employee of a now-closed studio would receive a share of today's sales of a game is simply beyond me.*
This isn't the music industry, after all, where a royalties system exists. A musician doesn't get paid when he creates his 'product' (the music), afaik, so it only makes sense that he'd get paid once his product is being used by the public (leaving aside whatever other problems there may be with the royalties system).
In the games industry an employee normally gets paid when he or she is involved in the creation of the product. This is generally done under the implicit understanding that the employee waives any rights to the profits from the sale of the product and the related IP.** The employee merely provides his talent and skill towards the creation of the product and gets compensated for that in the form of a salary. The IP is considered to belong the the company or publisher itself. This is no different to any other manufacturing industry.
There's obviously exceptions to this - and digital distribution has obviously made it much easier to circumvent some of this (for games and music alike, in fact) - but these are few and far between.
I really don't understand where this idea comes from that if you buy Thief off GOG today you'd in some way be supporting the (now defunct) developers.
* That's not to say it wouldn't be nice if they did, of course, but the legal ramifcations of this would probably be even more mind-boggling.
** Unless there's some sort of profit-sharing clause written into the contract, of course, but for that the employee would still need to be employed in the company at the time of the sale.
nicked on 18/2/2012 at 13:31
It's hardly mind-boggling. You think an average member of the general public knows whether the games industry has a royalty system or not? Most people wouldn't even have a clue as to the difference between developers and publishers.
gunsmoke on 18/2/2012 at 14:06
I was just tired of seeing the same arguments about this and decided to link an answer to it.
N'Al on 18/2/2012 at 15:31
Didn't mean to single you out with this, sorry, gunny, if my post gave that impression. Didn't actually think that you personally believed this.
As to nicked's point: Sure, I'd expect some people to not know how this business works - be it because they're too young, have no interest in that sort of thing, or are plain delusional, etc. - but the sheer apparent number of people that don't, now that I think truly is mind-boggling.
Think of it this way: an employee in the car manufacturing industry - and let's not kid ourselves, as much as we'd like to think of games as art, the actual process of games development is pretty much manufacturing - doesn't get money each time a car gets sold, the company does. Hopefully the company makes a profit doing so, then it can pay its employees a salary, plus have some extra left over to invest, pay to shareholders, etc.
EvaUnit02 on 22/2/2012 at 02:59
(
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/cossacks_anthology) Cossacks Anthology - $5.99 USD
It lists GSC as the publisher. Would they be seeing profits from this, I wonder? Would be cool if we could help fund Stalker 2 development.
