open-source commercial game? a possibility?

[vinboy]

hi
i'm thinking of contracting some people to write a game.
But since i'll be paying for the development (design, programming, graphics, sounds etc), i'm planning to charge the players for a very very small fees.

I know alot of the linux users love open-source software.

so my question is:
Is it possible to make the game open-source, while preventing competitors to rip the code and make their own clone of my game, thus ruining my game's business?

Is there any license or any way to do that?
:guitar:


PS: don't lie to me just because you want some linux games :D

[Anthem]

Not really. If the whole game is open-source, they'll be able to clone it.

What you could do is make an open-source game engine, then write the content yourself and charge for that. The community could help develop the engine, which would make some development costs easier.

[ghowells]

Not really. If the whole game is open-source, they'll be able to clone it.
.

That's not entirely true. If you released it under the GPL then people would indeed be able to take a copy of the code and redistribute it ad infinitum but they would have to make changes to fork it off into a new product and it would have to be released either under the GPL or a license that affords the same types of rights as the GPL.

You can't take an open source product and close-source it that is what the GPL is for!

[Brunellus]

Not really. If the whole game is open-source, they'll be able to clone it.

What you could do is make an open-source game engine, then write the content yourself and charge for that. The community could help develop the engine, which would make some development costs easier.
Chess.

[weatherman]

I'm sure that among all the open source licenses there is one which lets you distribute the code as open source but not as free software (as in the fsf definition), so that others would basically just be allowed to look at the code but not to modify or redistribute it.
It remains questionable if this would be the best solution though.

[Tomosaur]

There's nothing stopping you from creating your own license rather than relying on the GPL. The common method for this kind of thing is to release the actual game code on the GPL, but to release the content - ie sounds, artwork, maps, whatever commercially. There are many games which have done this. The popular ones occasionally have totally free clones - where people have created their own art and sounds for the game, and tied it to the code which the developers released for free.

Linux users are not against paying for software though - and it's pretty offensive when people assume we are. We want quality software, not churned out crap - it just so happens that much of the GNU software is of commercial quality or greater, so there's no reason to spend money. If your game is good, then people will buy it - it's as simple as that.

[doobit]

You should look at this a different way, maybe. There are a couple of online games, for example, that are free to download. Once you are in the game, however, you have to pay real money for necessary services, or to advance in the game.

[Resurrection]

Have a look at this thread if you haven't, it may help you out:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=337909

[Mathiasdm]

I've been thinking about creating a Sudoku game (Still thinking, as the programming isn't really going forward) under the LGPL, and make 'paid-for' add-ons (for a tiny price, of course) for the hard-core Sudoku-fans.

So it's possible, just make sure you don't violate the license!

[az]

hi
i'm thinking of contracting some people to write a game.
But since i'll be paying for the development (design, programming, graphics, sounds etc), i'm planning to charge the players for a very very small fees.

I know alot of the linux users love open-source software.

so my question is:
Is it possible to make the game open-source, while preventing competitors to rip the code and make their own clone of my game, thus ruining my game's business?

Is there any license or any way to do that?

PS: don't lie to me just because you want some linux games :D

What exactly do you want to do?

1. Do you want to publish a game, but recouperate the costs of development through game sales?

2. Do you want to sell a game or two to make a lot of money?


1. There are better ways of doing this. First, if you develop the game in an open way, and a re able to stimulate and build a community, you can use that community to build the game for you for free. You can even start with a currently free and open game, or game engine, and build on/fork that. There are quite a few free and open games and engines out there. Tiy most probably don't need to reinvent the wheel.

If your project is really ata the planning stage, I suggest you look into that. As well, you can use advertising to pay for some of the overhead involved in making the game. So you can pretty much make a game for free.

2. As stated, you would probably be better off using a free-libre game engine and selling the content. Use the model of a service industry and have people pay to use your game. If it is a networked game, you can generate revenue by geiing people to pay for access. If it's a game with lots of content, you can provide a steady stream of new content.

You probably won't make a lot of money by creating and selling a game in the proprietary market. Their marketing budget make small-time competitors irrelevant.

[vinboy]

Thanks everyone for replying.



2. Do you want to sell a game or two to make a lot of money?
I'm expecting this to be big like Doom3. But I do expect to generate constant monthly income so I can hire people to improve it/make some money for my effort.


1. There are better ways of doing this. First, if you develop the game in an open way, and a re able to stimulate and build a community, you can use that community to build the game for you for free. You can even start with a currently free and open game, or game engine, and build on/fork that. There are quite a few free and open games and engines out there. Tiy most probably don't need to reinvent the wheel.
The problem with this approach is that it may take forever. We have seen open-source project end up never release any product. And due to the nature of a game, we need participants from many backgrounds, programming, graphics, sounds etc etc. which is quite hard to gather all these talents.



If your project is really ata the planning stage, I suggest you look into that. As well, you can use advertising to pay for some of the overhead involved in making the game. So you can pretty much make a game for free.
This may be an option. But are the users willing to look at the ads?

2. As stated, you would probably be better off using a free-libre game engine and selling the content. Use the model of a service industry and have people pay to use your game. If it is a networked game, you can generate revenue by geiing people to pay for access. If it's a game with lots of content, you can provide a steady stream of new content.


You probably won't make a lot of money by creating and selling a game in the proprietary market. Their marketing budget make small-time competitors irrelevant.
Totally agree, i'm not here to compete with Electronic Arts, Activision etc. I'm just here to make some games for bored linux users :)

[drfalkor]

I'm expecting this to be big like Doom3. But I do expect to generate constant monthly income so I can hire people to improve it/make some money for my effort.

Well, I dont know how that is possible without money, alot of money. Even nexuiz isnt as big as Doom 3, maybe because of its graphics. I dont know :)

[banjobacon]

Take a look at Second Life. The client recently when open source, though the server software is still closed. They make money by charging for premium accounts (though there are free accounts, too).

[Mateo]

Maybe I'm missing the point, but if something is open source, you can download the source for free and compile it yourself. For free... no?

[vinboy]

Well, I dont know how that is possible without money, alot of money. Even nexuiz isnt as big as Doom 3, maybe because of its graphics. I dont know :)

Sorry I meant to say I'm expecting it NOT to be as big as Doom3 :)

[vinboy]

Maybe I'm missing the point, but if something is open source, you can download the source for free and compile it yourself. For free... no?

yes this is what I'm worry about.
one of the clever guy can just compile it and offer it to the others for FREE.
and my investment is ruined.

[undertakingyou]

The beauty of the GNU public license is that it is speaking of freedom not price. You can do whatever you want, as long as you don't mind that people have source available and can change and use it if you want. I think you can actually charge for source also, or have it bundled with the purchase of your game. But you can do what you like. It is freedom.

[IYY]

I'd suggest making a Free, open source engine, but charge for the artwork and datafiles. Sure, people will be able to illegally copy the datafiles, but that's the same as illegally downloading the game to begin with. People could also make free alternative datafiles if the game is popular enough, but I doubt it will hurt sales at all.

[az]

yes this is what I'm worry about.
one of the clever guy can just compile it and offer it to the others for FREE.
and my investment is ruined.

You will not make money by selling free software. Either make your game non-free or find another way to generate revenue.

As mentioned, selling the services of a networked game (subscription) is one way to do it.

You make money from open source as a services industry, not as a retail industry. If you want to sell you game retail, open source will not work.

That being said, giving something away for free is a great way to blow away your retail competition. That's how you can start to make money as an open source app, by providing the service that your new users will pay for.

[me1on]

Another possibility is making the game free, but putting ads on the game site and allowing users to donate to the project. You probably wouldn't get much, but it's better than nothing. :)