Open Thesis Final.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications EVALUATIO OF FOSS VIDEO GAMES I COMPARISO TO THEIR COMMERCIAL COUTERPARTS A Thesis in Media Studies By Jesse A. Clark © 2008 Jesse A. Clark Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts August 2008 ii The thesis of Jesse A. Clark was reviewed and approved* by the following:: John Nichols Professor of Communications Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research Matt Jackson Associate Professor of Communications Head of Department of Telecommunications Thesis Advisor Robert Frieden Professor; Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications Ronald Bettig Associate Professor of Communications *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. iii Abstract The topic of copyrights and copyright law is a crucial component in understanding today's media landscape. The purpose for having a copyright system as outlined in the U.S. Constitution is to provide content creators with an incentive to create. The copyright system allows revenue to be generated through sales of copies of works; thus allowing for works to be created which otherwise would not be created. Yet it is entirely possible that not all large creative projects require the same legal framework as an incentive. The so called “copyleft” movement (which will be defined and explained in depth later) offers an alternative to the industrial mode of cultural production. Superficially, “copylefted” works can be divided into two broad categories: artistic/creative works (which are often protected by “Creative Commons” licenses), and Free/Open Source Software. This thesis evaluates how open source video games compare to their commercial counterparts and discusses the reasons for any difference in overall quality. From this evaluation, this thesis attempts to evaluate whether copyright protection is necessary for high quality video games to be developed. This study finds that, in term of technical merit, FOSS games vary widely. The most sophisticated of these games, however, seem to be only a few years behind their commercial counterparts. A partial explanation for this disparity can be found in the fact that commercial games have significantly larger user bases, and these users contribute a large amount of value to commercial games in the form of free user modifications. This study suggests that FOSS games could be greatly benefited if they were able to induce more users to take part in developing modifications and levels for these games rather than for commercial games. The implication for copyright law is that, at least in some cases, strong copyright protection may not be necessary for the production of high quality video games. iv Table of Contents List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. v List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Overview of Copyrights and the “Copyleft” Alternative ....................................................... 5 Introduction to Copyright Law and Criticisms Thereof: ....................................................................... 5 Case Law Relating to Video Games and Copyrights: ......................................................................... 10 Introduction to the “Copyleft” Movement: ......................................................................................... 14 Why I Must Write GNU .................................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 2: Economic Perspectives on FOSS Production, Consumption, and Policy ............................ 25 Articles dealing with the supply side: ................................................................................................. 28 Articles dealing with the demand side: ............................................................................................... 35 Discussion: .......................................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3: Video Games and the Video Game Industry ......................................................................... 40 History: ................................................................................................................................................ 40 Structure: ............................................................................................................................................. 41 The Role of User Generated Content: ................................................................................................. 47 Literature Relating to FOSS Games: ................................................................................................... 52 Sales Statistics: .................................................................................................................................... 54 Conclusion: .......................................................................................................................................... 56 Restatement of Research Questions: ................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 4: Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 5: Results .................................................................................................................................. 77 StepMania: ........................................................................................................................................... 77 Battle for Wesnoth: .............................................................................................................................. 81 Sauerbraten Game & Engine: .............................................................................................................. 84 Scorched 3D: ....................................................................................................................................... 88 Nexuiz: ................................................................................................................................................ 90 Armagetron Advanced:........................................................................................................................ 96 Freeciv: .............................................................................................................................................. 100 Secret Maryo Chronicles: .................................................................................................................. 103 Table Summarizing Results: .............................................................................................................. 105 Chapter 6: Conclusions, Limitations, and Future Research ................................................................. 108 Conclusions and Discussion: ............................................................................................................. 108 Limitations and Future Research:...................................................................................................... 115 Appendix A: Inside the Development of a Simple Game .................................................................... 120 Appendix B: Screenshots ..................................................................................................................... 130 References ............................................................................................................................................. 145 v List of Tables Table 1 Consoles (Including Handhelds) Sales Data for 2007 ................................................................ 55 Table 2 Top Ten Console (Including Handhelds) Games for 2007 ......................................................... 55 Table 3 Top Ten PC Games of 2007 ........................................................................................................ 56 Table 4 Top Ten FOSS Games on SourceForge ...................................................................................... 56 Table 5 Games in Sample ........................................................................................................................ 76 Table 6 Summary of Results ................................................................................................................. 107 vi List of Figures Figure 1 Illustration of Scrolling on Both an x-axis and y-axis With a Mini-Map Drawn On-Screen ... 61 Figure 2 Nexuiz 2.4 ............................................................................................................................... 130 Figure 3 Nexuiz 2.4 (second screenshot) .............................................................................................. 131 Figure 4 Sauerbraten (December 2007 Version) ................................................................................... 132 Figure 5 Sauerbraten (December 2007 Version) ................................................................................... 133 Figure 6 Stepmania 4 ............................................................................................................................