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Azilut: Ellison is infamous for having a stance on copyright protection that borders on 'unhinged'. I don't see him joining the DRM-free revolution any time soon, sadly.
I fail to see logic behind this reasoning. Is it better to have his work stolen (I don't believe he's able to hunt down every torrent or warez of his game and and many people probably consider it "abandonware" without investigating) than join us, sell his game to people who are willing to pay for it and earn money with it once again?
$9.99 for this gem seems reasonable. That's $9.99 more than nothing.
Post edited April 18, 2013 by Novotnus
Funny, I was thinking yesterday about having a thread with various adventures we'd like to see on GOG. I PM'ed Barry Woodward to see if he has a comprehensive list. Many of these aren't too obscure, but nevertheless I'd love to see them here:

Amber: Journeys Beyond
Azrael's Tear
Bad Mojo
Barrow Hill
Black Dahlia
Black Mirror series
Blade Runner
Conquests of the Longbow
The Dark Eye
Discworld series
Faust (aka Seven Games of the Soul)
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles
The Legend of Kyrandia series
Lighthouse: The Dark Being
The Lost Crown
Morpheus
The Neverhood
Obsidian
Overclocked: A History of Violence
Ripper
Shadow of the Comet
Shivers series
The Space Bar
Traitor's Gate
A Vampyre Story
The X-Files Game
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Novotnus: I fail to see logic behind this reasoning.
I'm not sure that you're "failing to see it" so much as "noting its absence". I'll see if I can dig up some of the anecdotes for you when I get home; they're pretty dramatic.
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Azilut: I'm not sure that you're "failing to see it" so much as "noting its absence". I'll see if I can dig up some of the anecdotes for you when I get home; they're pretty dramatic.
Sure, this can be interesting...
...but the game was originally released DRM-free, right? In pre-DRM era of gaming...
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mondo84: Overclocked: A History of Violence
I expected this one to be so much better...

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mondo84: A Vampyre Story
Hope mr Tiller will finally decide to conclude this story...

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mondo84: The X-Files Game
You know there were two, right? FMV adventure and survival horror adventure : )

Also, nice and pretty obscure series: Art of Murder.
Good, cheesy, scary, disgusting, a little obscure and one-of-a-kind game: Bad Mojo.
Post edited April 18, 2013 by Novotnus
I really like the two Sherlock Holmes from Mythos Software The Case of the Serrated Scalpel and The Case of the Rose Tattoo. Electronic Arts should have the rights for this two games so I hope we can see them here on GOG soon.
Post edited April 18, 2013 by klaattu
Does anybody remember "Ripley's Believe It Or Not! The Riddle of Master Lu"?
This game:http://crystalshard.net/atotk.php was fun, I never completed it though.
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Azilut: I'm not sure that you're "failing to see it" so much as "noting its absence". I'll see if I can dig up some of the anecdotes for you when I get home; they're pretty dramatic.
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Novotnus: Sure, this can be interesting...
...but the game was originally released DRM-free, right? In pre-DRM era of gaming...
Okay, so, here is an article that explains some of what I'm talking about. The video on that page is also a (probably comparatively tame) illustration of Ellison's "behaviour" when these kind of issues come up.

I remember reading a story once (though now I can't find it) about an incident where he was giving a lecture, noticed a fan in the crowd with a tape recorder, and leapt into the crowd, grabbed the recorder from their hands and smashed it. And then proceeded to bawl them out at some length.

Whether or not there are some valid arguments underlying his position is not the point. The point is, this is not a man likely to sit there listening patiently to you while you explain why "DRM-free" is actually a sound business move. In fact, he's not someone I would wish on GOG even if it did mean bringing his game here - he'd only end up noticing how every game they sell is infringing his copyrights, and start launching lawsuits to have them taken down.
Post edited April 19, 2013 by Azilut
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Azilut: Okay, so, here is an article that explains some of what I'm talking about. The video on that page is also a (probably comparatively tame) illustration of Ellison's "behaviour" when these kind of issues come up.

I remember reading a story once (though now I can't find it) about an incident where he was giving a lecture, noticed a fan in the crowd with a tape recorder, and leapt into the crowd, grabbed the recorder from their hands and smashed it. And then proceeded to bawl them out at some length.

Whether or not there are some valid arguments underlying his position is not the point. The point is, this is not a man likely to sit there listening patiently to you while you explain why "DRM-free" is actually a sound business move. In fact, he's not someone I would wish on GOG even if it did mean bringing his game here - he'd only end up noticing how every game they sell is infringing his copyrights, and start launching lawsuits to have them taken down.
All right, so he says:

It ain't about the 'principle,' friend, its (sic) about the MONEY! Pay Me! Am I doing this for other writers, for Mom (still dead), and apple pie? Hell no! I'm doing it for the 35-year-long disrespect and the money!
So we can say:

Dear Mr Ellison! There is a place that's full of people who are willing to empty their pockets to get a nice, shiny copy of your game. You know, that game you made a long time ago, that they can get for free by doing some basic google search, but respect you and your work too much to do so.
That place is called gog.com. Come in, bring your game and take your well deserved money!
And I don't think he needs GOG to make him aware of gaming industry : )
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Novotnus: All right, so he says:

It ain't about the 'principle,' friend, its (sic) about the MONEY! Pay Me! Am I doing this for other writers, for Mom (still dead), and apple pie? Hell no! I'm doing it for the 35-year-long disrespect and the money!
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Novotnus: So we can say:

Dear Mr Ellison! There is a place that's full of people who are willing to empty their pockets to get a nice, shiny copy of your game. You know, that game you made a long time ago, that they can get for free by doing some basic google search, but respect you and your work too much to do so.
That place is called gog.com. Come in, bring your game and take your well deserved money!
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Novotnus: And I don't think he needs GOG to make him aware of gaming industry : )
Harlan may be a curmudgeon, but he ain't stupid. I'm sure he's aware of internet piracy, and would ask GOG what they intend to do to prevent it. I do not think he would care for their answer.

He says he just cares about the money, but don't mistake this for rational self-interest. The man has a screw loose, and frankly, the last thing that any business that deals in sci-fi copyrights wants to do is make him aware that they exist.
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Azilut: Harlan may be a curmudgeon, but he ain't stupid. I'm sure he's aware of internet piracy, and would ask GOG what they intend to do to prevent it. I do not think he would care for their answer.
"Well, we are going to sell your game and give large part of the money earned that way to you."
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Azilut: He says he just cares about the money, but don't mistake this for rational self-interest. The man has a screw loose, and frankly, the last thing that any business that deals in sci-fi copyrights wants to do is make him aware that they exist.
If that was Orwell, Bradbury or Huxley, I'd say those lawsuits are some kind of an artistic performance...
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Azilut: ~snip~
Is anything known about his stance towards DRM and piracy then or is it just deducted from his behavior regarding the "theft" of ideas without paying him? IMO that would be a totally different discussion, the former isn't really related to the latter and if he's never said anything about it, it might be worth hearing his opinion first before drawing conclusions. I give you that he comes across as a pretty unsympathetic guy, but that doesn't automatically mean GOG couldn't come to some agreement with him. As for the thing he talks about in the video, I think he actually has a point. I'm not sure whether anyone is consciously exploiting writers, but a lot of people tend to take their work for granted and forget that they have to eat, too, and if the writers address it, they are portrayed as greedy. I can see how that can make one bitter, angry and defensive, even cause overreactions, if one is constantly confronted with this kind of attitude.

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Timelord1963: Ah, long list, how did I know I'd do that once again? Apologies! :)
No need for apologies, much appreciated! And thanks for all the other suggestions, too - keep them coming! :)
Post edited April 19, 2013 by Leroux
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Azilut: ~snip~
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Leroux: Is anything known about his stance towards DRM and piracy then or is it just deducted from his behavior regarding the "theft" of ideas without paying him? IMO that would be a totally different discussion, the former isn't really related to the latter and if he's never said anything about it, it might be worth hearing his opinion first before drawing conclusions. I give you that he comes across as a pretty unsympathetic guy, but that doesn't automatically mean GOG couldn't come to some agreement with him. As for the thing he talks about in the video, I think he actually has a point. I'm not sure whether anyone is consciously exploiting writers, but a lot of people tend to take their work for granted and forget that they have to eat, too, and if the writers address it, they are portrayed as greedy. I can see how that can make one bitter, angry and defensive, even cause overreactions, if one is constantly confronted with this kind of attitude.
As I said before, my point is not that Harlan's position is without merit, but rather that his overall attitude on related issues (basically, his enraged hypervigilance at any perceived taking of his ideas) leads me to suspect that he would be opposed to DRM. But I have not seen any direct statement from him on the subject, no - this is guesswork on my part.

Edit: and hrm... it looks like Baen sells some of his e-books DRM-free, so I may be wrong.
Post edited April 19, 2013 by Azilut
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Azilut: As I said before, my point is not that Harlan's position is without merit, but rather that his overall attitude on related issues (basically, his enraged hypervigilance at any perceived taking of his ideas) leads me to suspect that he would be opposed to DRM. But I have not seen any direct statement from him on the subject, no - this is guesswork on my part.
Mr. Ellison is either overprotective or wants to create some buzz around himself and his works. If he's overprotective (to the point it's just pure eccentricity) - he's probably all in for DRM. If he wants to create some buzz ('That guy acts weird... but he's a great writter!'), he might like to have his game sold on GOG.
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Damuna: Incidentally, I remember playing an adventure game around 5-8 years ago - it was 2D, and took place on a cruise ship, and seemed to have a few paths that could be taken - unfortunately, I don't remember what it's called, which is a shame as I'd like to play it again. Anyone know it?
Do you mean this Game That Takes Place On A Cruise Ship or another one? ;)
Post edited April 19, 2013 by Leroux