Well as I've said before Bryan, I'm confident original prince wouldn't take
all that much doing, ---- if someone could just go through the doss code and
make playing of appropriate sounds in appropriate locations.
heck, there's even about 90 independently produced level packs for the game
which would be playable if the engine was dealt with.
Source code is deffinately available as well, and while we're on the
subject, though the modern prince of persia and associated remakes are most
deffinately copywrite, ---- the original Jordan Meckner game is certainly
freeware by now, ---- hence the maaaany extra levels.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bryan Peterson" <b-peter...@hotmail.com>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:28 AM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Copywrite and abandonware
I'd still like to see what could be done with a game like Prince of Persia
to make it accessible.
----- Original Message -----
From: "dark" <d...@xgam.org>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 9:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Copywrite and abandonware
Hi Brian,
Actually I've never heard of a game called Prates at all.
It seems to be an unfortunate truth that individually people are pretty
decent, collectively they are vile!
This seems to absolutely hold true for game access. The larger the
company, the less response we get, where as I've had some great
conversations with solo creators or small groups of games about access
issues.
while certainly I don't think all the efforts being put into making the
larger game companies see reason are wasted, ---- I'm less optimistic
about them than I am over what can be done with independent game
developers, --- heck people like 7-128 are already building access into
their games.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bryan Peterson" <b-peter...@hotmail.com>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:15 AM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Copywrite and abandonware
It's funny you should bring this topic up again Dark. It just so happens
that yesterday morning my brother and I had a bit of a discussion about
this very thing. We were discussing that classic computer game Prates!
which was apparently remade a few years back, and my thoughts on how
neat it would be if a game in that style could be made for us blind
gamers. The question was why accessibility to the blind was such an
abhorrent concept to mainstream game designers. I refuse to say alien
since we've been trying to explain it to them for years and most refuse
to listen.
----- Original Message -----
From: "dark" <d...@xgam.org>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 9:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Copywrite and abandonware
Hi Tom.
This is a case where I'd absolutely apply to the spirit of the ethical
thinking behind the initial law, not the law itself.
To give a symple example of this sort of thinking, ---- one in fact
from Mary Warnock's book on ethics (herself both an ethicist and member
of the house of lords), imagine a law banning all vehicles from a park.
Following this law strictly, this would not only count cars and trucks,
but also vehicles such as bicycles and skateboards.
Someone could reasonably argue that the spirit of the law, ----
allowing people to enjoy a public park without fear of being run over
or disturbence from motor noise, is not being violated by the use of a
skateboard.
In this symple case the law can just be changed appropriately, --- -but
in the case of copywrite law as you've said yourself, the case isn't
that symple.
My own thinking on this subject is that copywrite law is to A, prevent
plagerism or taking of creddit for someone else's work, and B, allow a
commercial enterprise to receive some sort of payment for the creative
service of providing said copywrited material (often imho this gets
extreme with large corperations and hollywood, but that's another
debate entirely).
Obviously here we're mostly concerned with option B.
My thinking is that a company or individual cannot claime any
legitimate loss of prophit and/or due creddit where they themselves do
not seak to obtain any.
While there are cases, --- such as when I tried to buy a dvd of the
Lion King this Christmas to find it utterly unavailable sinse a
remastered version is in the works, where a creative project may be
unavailable for a comparatively short time, in these casis the company
has a vested interest in stating that the creative project will be
available.
In casis such as infocom, old games and out of print books however,
this arguement does not apply.
Of course there has to be a reasonable delaybbefore things become
public domain, ---- in the publishing industry for example it ranges
from country to country to anything betwene 30 and 50 years after the
author's death, however in these days of fast communication and easy
distribution, it strikes me the delay should be much shorter.
This is why i've frequently donated to things like project.aon and some
of my favourite websites,while at the same time I freely admit I have
quite a bit of copywrited material kicking around.
Btw, Applied to disability, there is also the huge mire of access. For
the past 20 years, copywrite law and the greed of the publication
industry who may or may not wish to release overpriced audio versions
of books has played a massive part in unavailability of audio in the
Uk.
While the situation is slowly improving, it's a long long loooong! way
behind what it is in the states.
Accessible computer games I'd view in a similar light I think.
Afterall, it's not as if we can all go out and make money for
activision's successors by buying their latest games.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
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