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Double Fine Adventure Will Be Available DRM Free For IOS, Android
New submitter Garth Smith writes "Tim Schafer has a video update for his crowdsourced project, Double Fine Adventure. Because of the nearly $2 million in funding, the budget is now large enough for language translations, voice acting, music, and more platforms. The XBox and PS3 are absent. I wonder what would the chances of a DRM-free release have been if funding had come from a traditional publisher?"
Mac, Linux, and PC. With both Steam and DRM-free versions to be available for all-purpose platforms.
I'm guessing it was going to say the Java platform, but they encountered a NullPointerException
And...
In spite of this being a joke, Java is not allowed on IOS, so no.
The last word was "Linux". Tim Schafer had already let it be known that OSX and the PC (obviously) would be supported.
If you want to support DRM-free Linux development, please consider financially supporting the project!
I would believe that this project would not be able to come from a traditional publisher on the basis that a "traditional publisher" nowadays feels that a game is not able to survive without DRM. Behold the brave new world of independant publishing ( am i showing my optimism there?)
Stay tuned for new sig...
For those wondering why this question was even being asked, the last work was cut off for whatever reason. timothy cleaned it up within a couple of minutes of the story posting. =)
Excellent, one customer ready to buy.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
DRM free versions will be available for Mac, PC and Linux. The game will also be made available through Steam, and the IOS App Store, etc.... which definitely have DRM. Title here (and other places) make it sound like it will be DRM free only.
i'm the jedidiahmarkfoster your parents warned you about
IOS, Android and what?
And nothing.
I've noticed that American headlines often use "X, Y" instead of "X and Y" when there are two items.
I assume it's to save space but, like you apparently, I still find it rather jarring (of course, it could be just a typo). Please let's not argue over which is better.
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
iOS and PC. :)
Julie Moult is an idiot.
Actually, URL says "double-fine-adventure-will-be-available-drm-free-for-ios-android-and-more" and I'm guessing the GP was wondering what the "more" is.
Hey, they'll lay off the shitty commentary if you'll lay of the shitty comments.
Julie Moult is an idiot.
We'll start with yours. Editorializing about editorials are the worst.
Somewhere between zero and the temperature (in Kelvin) at which Hell freezes over.
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
The words "IOS" and "Android" just get more visitors to /. and /. gets more income.
They didn't have more space in the title, if they had it would've also contained "Linux".
If it's on Android, don't you think there's already a Java port in the works? :)
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
It won't be PS3 and 360, that's for sure.
The pressing/licensing fees for those consoles were over $10 a disc when I was involved with game development. Payable upfront. Making 100K runs would be their entire budget. It's just not going to happen.
I stand corrected, thank-you.
That'll teach me to assume a subtle linguistic misunderstooding exists when it's actually just sloppy headline-writing or lackadaisical editing.
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
I find your sig + your statement + the context an amusing combination.
I wonder what would the chances of a DRM-free release have been if funding had come from a traditional publisher?
The same chance you have getting laid by something other than your left hand. Can we leave out the shitty editorials.
You must be new here...
Welcome to the internet!
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
I wrote that editorial. Parent's comment was good for a laugh. =)
Did you know that adventure games are more popular with girls than Call of Duty or Madden ever was? I know quite a few females, that aren't my left hand (correction: my RIGHT hand), that are excited about this game.
"For IOS, Android"
What happened to /.?
Say I invested in his 2 million dollar drive...other than the sense that I helped someone out, do I get a part of the returns on the game(s)? Will we get to see Tim Schafer's accounting for this money?
Can he send me a note saying how much he liked my quarter and the loose cigarette he used it to buy?
Isn't everything on an iPhone under DRM? I mean you can't transfer ownership or anything.
Will I be fined twice for playing it? Versus just once for other big-name game producers, that is.
What do we call software available on all consumer PC's? MacWinnux.
What do we call software available on all popular mobile devices? Apps
What do we call drm-free software available? Piracy bait.
See what's going on here is that by pre-paying for the project up front, it ultimately doesn't matter if it has DRM or not, because there's no immediate claim of piracy, even if it's being distributed in a piracy fashion. Everyone who pre-paid for it, gets a copy, and the pirates get it last. See, there's your piracy solution. Get everyone to pay first. If there's not enough financial incentive to fund your effort, then you go it alone. Anyone who buys it after it's released, actually wants to support the creators, and anyone who obtains the pirate copy , even though they paid for it, can't be pirating it. Might be hard to tell who actually paid for it this way, but because it's effectively been "pre-sold", you can't make the "lost sale" claim, since if you wanted more sales, you'd have set the target higher.
At the scale of game we're talking about, these wouldn't be pressed discs, they'd be XBLA/PSN titles.
Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
"And for all our lovely friends overseas, we'll be localizing the text in French, Italian, German, and Spanish."
Spanish makes sense, but not the others: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers
I have a hard time believing that, for instance, Italy has a larger market for games than Brazil, Russia, India, or China.
I would imagine that, much like some of Double Fine's previous titles (Stacking, for one), it would be available as a downloadable title. No disks needed.
As it stands the game is effectively pre-funded. Every sale Double Fine makes on top of the Kickstarter campaign is going to be pure profit so long as they don't go over budget, which greatly changes the market dynamics. DRM is first and foremost about being able to recover your investment, after which there's not nearly as great a need to stop freeloaders. So I don't think anyone should be surprised that their game will be DRM free; it's a nice gesture for sure, but it's not as if Double Fine is in a position where they need to use it.*
* Even more so since Notch is effectively writing them a blank check for their next game, Psychonauts 2
I look at the web page and I see talk about funding, platforms and DRM.
But I haven't a clue about the game itself other than that it appears to patterned on the old-school low-res Lucas Arts graphic adventures.
What I need to know as an investor is whether you have a story, characters, setting and design as original and compelling as Grim Fandango. What I want in a developer is someone who can say no to the crowd and it make it stick.
Duke Nukem Forever is the perfect example of the game as fan service.
Is there still the 50MB DL game size limit? I haven't looked into that in ages. All the games I worked on needed heavy compression to fit on a DVD.
Not sure about PSN, but I know we recently had a discussion about the cost of Xbox patches.
This makes me wonder how much it costs to get a game onto XBLA. Does anyone know?
The XBox and PS3 are absent.
As is the Wii. Which probably would make quite a nice platform for a DotT-style point-and-click adventure.
How so? Are you claiming Double Fine is a bully in the video game industry? I could presume you meant Steam, but since the whole point of this article is that DRM-free options will exist, I am back to being confused again.
Apple does not allow that. Or are they selling it only on the Cydia store and skipping the apple store? That would be interesting if they only sold to jailbroken Apple owners.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
There is also a game news report talking about Double Fine:
Game report (Double Fine part is at 0'45")
It is russian spoken but I don't know why I didn't found it difficult to understand the whole report.
What about downloadable through Xbox Live and PSN?
Does anyone know much does it cost to get a game on Xbox Live and PSN? $2 million is quite a small budget for a game and I imagine cost is the sole reason of not releasing the game to more platforms.
No, since you can't do Java on iOS, it is easier to do a cross-platform app in C with SDL for the graphics and audio stuff. There are some other options: C# via monotouch/monoforandroid, Javascript via phonegap or titanium.
I don't get it.
...they are already going to have to include over 4,000 people in the game's credits. Anyone who donates $100 or more gets "special thanks in the game's credits".
(Yes, my name will be one of those.)
They said XBLA won't happen because they only work with licensed publishers. 360 won't happen because patches cost $40k each.
Article title make my panic a little. No PC?? After checking the video,.. phew..
People who donate $15 or more will get a copy of the finished game. For all purposes it is a pre-order with the option of paying more if you want. He is perfectly open about his motives and his goals for the project. In fact, with the documentary being made about the development of the game, as it's being developed, you could say this is one of the most transparent development processes ever. Scam? Opposite! If you don't like the terms don't pay the $15+. No reason to start name calling.
Downloadable games are any size now. I've got a few that go past the 1GB size.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
the relevant context is that 2 of the 5 platforms are apple products. That's all.
If you can do it in c#, you can do it in Java with IKVM.
Exactly! That's how the Slashdot guys were able to get all those private jets and mansions and stuff.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Unfortunately, backers who run Linux won't be part of the closed beta.
Yep, it's an ingenious scam, and it worked perfectly. Sucked me in, that's for sure. For all his affability and good nature, Tim Schafer is one hell of an evil genius. You have to give him cred for that.
I can only hope he tops it off by making the game about an evil genius who swindles millions from unsuspecting netizens. Using the SCUMM game engine. Now that would be inspired evil!
Dear EA...
Please follow this example and do a refresh, please no remakes or re-imaginings, of the Wing Commander series.
I, and a few friends I know, would be more than willing to drop 50 - 100+ dollars into a Kickstarter project that would portray the original Wing Commander stories with modern updated graphics, sound, all new voice overs with the established series voice actors, and full HOTAS support.
I'll even drop an extra 50 bucks if you provide a Steam-Play version so I can play it natively on my Mac.
Thanks,
A Wing Commander Fan who want to give you money...
PS: Lets do this for System Shock and System Shock 2 as well okay?
How is that relevant? Is Double Fine giving their earnings from the game to Apple?
I'll buy both the Mac and Linux version to support this way of working and to support Linux gaming.
First, it's just humorous, not an actual contradiction of the GGGP's principles. Second, yes deploying to a platform does, in fact, increase the effective value of that platform, thus indirectly giving earnings to Apple. It's not a serious issue, and I hope this isn't a debate.
Generally you'll find it a lot rarer for people to say "i won't buy unless you remove platform X" than "i won't buy unless you add platform X"
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
This reminds me of how the pay-as-you-will album from Radiohead totally changed the music industry with its completely viable new system of begging for donations. To think, we still have some sectors of our economy in which you are actually expected to pay for a product!
Ahhh, the art of subtle sarcasm has drowned in a sea of surly moderators.
As much as I hate to spell it out, please read the above with a sense of humour.