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Originally posted by Kraig Hill:
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If a game has been around for a while, and could use improvements (Avara) I think it should be open source...it can't be making you guys very much money, you should just let some people tinker around with it:)
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They did that for Falcon 4.0 on the Dark Side with iBeta (kind of) -- it worked out tremendously well. I'd expect the same kind of fortune with Mac games.

Exobattle is a step in the right direction...

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Tim Morgan
(url="http://"http://lightningbolt.pair.com")Lightning Bolt Software(/url)

Visit my site, (url="http://"http://www.jps.net/ltningbolt/evo-tips")All the EV Override Tips You Could Possibly Want(/url).

When a publisher releases a game, do you feel that they owe you, the players of that game, updates to the game in perpeptuity?

BugFixes -> Free New Features And Enhancements -> at least minor re-registration...

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How many updates do they owe you for the money you paid for the original game?

As many as it takes to squish any discovered bugs... other than that none I suppose...

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Do they owe you more than a bug-free version of the game as it was originally presented?

No... If significant features are added the game should require re-registration...

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Do they owe you continual support/updates without you paying any more for this?

Updates as in bugfixes... I'd like to think so...

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Do they owe you a sequel to the game, no matter how well the original did?

No...

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Do they owe you a sequel even if the original author of the game is not interested in doing that himself?

No...

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Do they owe it to you to release the source code to the game as open source?

No...

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Should a game developer/publisher ignore financial motivations (and thus possibly face bankruptcy or at least a weak business model resulting in less captial for the next project) in order to appease their customers in the above scenarios?

No... the developer needs to do what they can to survive and appease customers as best they can while surviving...

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I'm curious where people think the line is drawn... what you expect to get for your money.

A functional and bug-free game... something that I won't get bored of in a week or two...

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Live long enough in the
shadows, and you
become one...

To Andrew Welch...

Just curious, but do you think EV3 would be a bad business move?

It just seems that EV3 if done right could make quite a bit of money... And I assume that all people would need to fully re-register for EV3, or whatever it will be called, even if they are registered for EV or EVO?

Also - for a beautiful 16-bit EV I imagine you could ask for more than the standard $25...

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Live long enough in the
shadows, and you
become one...

To Ian Malcom:
I would like to say that you have concisely put into words the precise
reasons I thought made EV such a great game. Excellent job, I hope you write
as a career.
Regarding Khromags ad idea: I think it's great! If it were, as you suggested, made in low enough levels to where it wouldn't be annoying (You know, one of the sponsers in the Galactic News Network or something like that..) it might even add something to the game. And if would offer a chance at every EV players holy grail, the chance to make another human being eat electric death and financial ruin, well!! What can I say?

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We do not live to work, rather, we work to live.

Andrew: Don't tell me you're not doing a new version of Bubble Trouble...?

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