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Game devs, why not release your source code?
Talon1024 Feb 21
So I've been working on a very long article about why game developers almost never release their source code. But the article is mostly written based on rough guesses, and I have only a handful of quotes from developers pertaining to video game source code releases.

I thought the best way to get a better answer to that question would be to ask the developers themselves. So, if you're a game developer, please take the time to fill out my survey question on Strawpoll. Thank you.
gbudny Feb 21
Hi

I'm not a game developer, so I can't participate in this poll. On the other hand, this answer is interesting:

Quote- I don't believe releasing the source code is necessary for preserving my game

I can agree with it if you think about the old games on retro computers. That's not a perfect situation because these games never will be released for AmigaOS, macOS, etc.

On the other hand, I only care if I can play these games on Linux.

I respect companies that re-release old games for Linux as freeware without any updates.

Some companies never released updates for Linux games published above 20 years ago. However, they sell, and I like it.

The old computers like from the late 90's are now cheap ($10 - $20).
Similarly, computers from 2005 or 2010 don't cost too much. In this case, you can use additional ports in your monitor to connect them and maybe KVM for the same keyboard, mouse, and headphones.

I hope some small developers can read it, and here are my thoughts:

I don't like when a single-player game requires a server to activate it - it makes games dead and useless. The offline activation with keys is acceptable for me. Similarly, removing the DRM from the unsupported games on Steam will allow users to play them in the future.

Lastly, I don't care how buggy or unstable are some games for Linux.
You can drop the technical support, but please don't remove it from the online stores. Please, let Linux users preferring native games like me buy it, and don't leave me only with the Windows version. I would enjoy games for Windows only on the operating system created by Microsoft. However, I don't use it, and I don't plan to do it.

Last edited by gbudny on 21 February 2024 at 5:24 pm UTC
I'd be interested to see the results of the poll once it's finished.
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