General Discussion
The Pub at MMORPG.COM » Should companies release server software once the MMO shuts down?
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britoca 6/19/06 8:09:39 PM
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Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/06/04
Time U enjoyed wasting was not wasted |
keep voting, bump
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| -virtual tourist |
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britoca 6/30/06 5:14:52 PM
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Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/06/04
Time U enjoyed wasting was not wasted |
friday bump
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SnaKey 6/30/06 5:21:17 PM
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Novice Member
Joined: 3/26/04
easthastings. Modjoe and others migrated there |
I think this should defnitally be put on the MMORPG.com vote thing. I remember reading this when you first posted it and still think it's a great idea. They can still make money selling the game so why the hell not? |
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britoca 7/05/06 1:53:47 PM
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Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/06/04
Time U enjoyed wasting was not wasted |
Hey thanks for the support. Yeah, I wish they'd add an oficial poll about this issue, it'd be great to get the industry's attention. mmorpg.com just takes time...... |
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| -virtual tourist |
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Theo 7/05/06 2:22:32 PM
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Apprentice Member
Joined: 10/02/03 |
That completely negates your argument that your character should be considered your intellectual property. In this case, your only argument in support of making the game available is because you want it, not to protect the investment of time and effort your character represents. I don't think it's a bad idea. I'd love to see publishers find a viable way to license the software to a third party so the game can live on in some form once it stops being profitable. I'm just not sure there really IS a viable way to do that. Say EQ closes down but Sony sells you a license to run a shard on your own server space. I don't think it's feasible for Sony to give you the right to alter the code in any way, because the potential for disastrous PR is enormous (ogres pimping off naked halflings in the East Commonlands and gnomes that cuss like sailors just won't do) and I suspect the legal implications of ownership are pretty complex as well. On the other hand, if you're not allowed to alter the code, that means Sony has to maintain tech support for you, which means you'll be paying some sort of service contract. Which means you'll probably need to be able to charge players to access your shard, which makes you sort of a franchisee at that point. And what happens when you close YOUR doors? I voted "no", not because I think it's a bad idea, but because I don't think it's workable for a lot of reasons, some technical and some legal. I think it'd be great if publishers could convert their defunt MMOs into single player games that you can run locally, while allowing you to preserve the characters you invested your time in. It won't be an MMO any more, but you'd still "own" your character and you'd be able to take nostalgic trips through the game world for as long as you wanted. If they added in limited multiplayer support so you could play with a handful of friends, that'd be better yet. |
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britoca 7/05/06 9:02:37 PM
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Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/06/04
Time U enjoyed wasting was not wasted |
Sorry, I don't seem the connection on how what u quoted undoes the argument that character development (and etc) is the player's property. I am thinking along the lines of the game being the software (like MS word) and the character and property being the result through the tool (like the document u type). I do see that the analogy isn't perfect, as the development of the character can only go so far as what is allowed by the code in the game. Basically, the player is just fullfilling what is allowed by the game developer. That is fine. There are games however, that do allow for creativity. People design housing, clothes, etc Those present a totally different situation. I see it as a trade off. The consumer put down his money and he gets the game. Then he puts in the time, dedication and patience, and he return he gets the fullfilment of his dreams, his fantasy, he roleplays, conquers, etc, etc. In the end, however, none of that is guaranteed. That's what I am trying to get at. As company, I find it hard to swallow that companies have the right to terminate the experience without any other alternative to the player but to accept the end of his game. i used the 'game on the shelve analogy" because, well, it isn't an analogy. It's true, u buy software, and u keep it and u will be able to use it in the future (granted u have to deal with future hardware incompatibilities, etc, etc). With mmos, the company has the right to deny my playing. How so??? About the PR disaster u spoke of, that wouldn't be a big deal whatsoever. How many games are out there with custumizable skins and environment already? If a gamer codes porn into his game environment, than that's that particular gamer's fault, not the gaming company. Also, I said it many times, and I'll state it again that this would be terminated software. Exctinct, defunct, passe, no more, discontinued, etc There are no support obligations towards the gamer from the custumer's perspectives. The custumer just wants a working copy of the game. That's all. Who would want an unsuported copy of a game? I would! And many people above me see to want the same. that's like asking why do you keep that dusty copy of Space Quest 1 around? I don't think Sierra is supporting that, lol. (I know, that was a simple game by comparison) I agree with u in the end, it would be great. Besides, I didn't ask the question "is it possible?", I asked more along the lines of "if it were possible, would u be interested?", in other words "Do you want this?" I'll let the companies figure out the rest. What I wanted to show is consumer demand and interest, that's what moves these guys anyways. nice post btw, thanks |
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Tempesto 7/05/06 11:07:51 PM
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Novice Member
Joined: 1/23/06 |
Originally posted by britoca This stuff needs to be talked about because eventually, all mmos will die off and become abandonware/obsolete. So far that is normal, games die off, but with MMOS, when your game shuts down... it's over. You will never be able to install the game and play it once again a few years down the road. This is very important, because many gamers put a lot of effort and dedication into their characters and progression, and many even become emotionally attached to their game character. If the game suddenly and drastically changes or if it closes down, well... everything ends right there and then. All that effort and time gets stored (maybe) into a backup closet, somewhere in an office building, and you will never again have it back. Believe me, it hurts. It happened to me, so it could happen to any of you as well. I think that companies should start releasing their own official server-side software/emulators so that users can [edit]buy the software (not proposing giving anything away for free)[/edit], still host and play the MMOs (like a regular multiplayer rpg) once they close down or are permanently modified to newer versions. Point is, they have ownership of their code, and they have the right to modify/close a game at any given moment. What we, as a gamer community need to start waking up to, is that they should not have the right of ownership of our characters/progression/effort. The time we put into our characters is not time worked for the gaming companies. We did it, the result of this effort is ours, and we should start claiming it as such. [further edit] let me make it clear that in my question I refer to the following:
You should have added another option to your poll: "not sure" What youre saying seems like a very nice idea, but i do not think many games will truly die out. There may be hundreds, possibly thousands of MMORPG's up but they do not seem to die out very easily. A very good example is Runescape. For some reason, this easy... not great MMORPG is still around and a Large amount of people play it every day. When you say User hosted, It may not be as fun as if there were thousands of people playing. If you do manage to get up to level 100 .. or even higher/ create a godly character, eventually you will begin to be bored because there is virtually nothing for you to do. For games like EVE online, they will most likely stay up around for another 10 years. if not more, because the choices of what you can do is basically limitless. As for ownership, I do not think they really care about your character. As game creators and game masters, they can create their own godly character without doin much. I do not think they will mind if you take your character into your own private user hosted world, but they certainly do not need to give up their rights of owning the game. They spent their time creating it. If they did want to sell the game, I would think they want some money, so they might charge you renewal fees whenever you use "their game". Its really not up to us to decide. If you really want to, you should create your own game and control that.  |
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Woob 7/05/06 11:38:45 PM
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