Microsoft publishes AGS games!!! (Not really) :P

LimpingFish · Mon 10/04/2006 20:06:31

Well, not really...

But the latest Official Windows XP Magazine Special Edition carried a dozen or so on its coverdisc. I just wanted to let the authors know, if they already didn't, of another instance of their games reaching a wider audience.

The games:

Alien Time Zone
Anna
Apprentice 1+2
Detention
The Elevator
Five Days A Stranger
Frank The Farmhand Part 1
Prodigal
The Winter Rose

Below are scans of the coverdisc slip, and screenshots from the coverdisc browser...

...and there we are.

m0ds · Mon 10/04/2006 21:41:22

Aweeeeeeesomeeee!!!!!! I barely did anything but at least millions....thousands.....hundreds.......okay....two people, will enjoy my music & browse my website

Congratumalations to all those who had it included. I hope you're happy about that too, Babar!

However, CHRIS the title confused & temporarily angered me

When will M$ have enough money to buy the world???

LOL. What is a compilation CD without a Yahtzee game?!

LimpingFish · Mon 10/04/2006 21:45:41

The sweaty fingers of AGS grasp another rung on the ladder towards WORLD DOMINATION!!!

EldKatt · Mon 10/04/2006 21:49:37

Out of curiosity, isn't this copyright infringement?

Not that I think anyone is displeased.

m0ds · Mon 10/04/2006 21:52:00

Because magazine CD's are "free", its legal. Because the games themselves are freeware, and probably do not include a disclaimer saying "If you publish this game without my permission you're breaching my rights & copyright" - its probably legal.

At the end of the day, it is a little bit of free, mass-exposure in return

Oh, and it's Microsoft behind this one....consider your chances

Babar · Mon 10/04/2006 22:01:19

* Babar high-fives m0ds

I AM A WARRIOR!

Sorry for the useless post. I AM HAPPY TOO!

Anym · Mon 10/04/2006 22:14:01

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 10/04/2006 21:52:00
Because magazine CD's are "free", its legal.

No.

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 10/04/2006 21:52:00Because the games themselves are freeware, and probably do not include a disclaimer saying "If you publish this game without my permission you're breaching my rights & copyright" - its probably legal.

Actually, I think it's the other way around, because they don't include a notice explicitly giving the permission to distribute it, they are protected by copyright and it's technically illegal to distribute them.

m0ds · Mon 10/04/2006 22:19:10

Shouldn't be - there is no legal binding going on, the developers have offered them for free, therefore they've offered outside sources like MS to pounce, & to really do what they want with it. Modifying one of the games would be a serious breach of copyright, and one, say Babar for example, could really persue. But distributing free games on a free CD, is legal. Because of the word "free", and the assumption by the distributor & player that the developer wanted the product to be "free".

Surely you don't need to give permission when you're distributing freeware, because your ultimate goal as a freeware-ist, if that exists, is for all and anyone to play/use, no matter how they get it.

LimpingFish · Mon 10/04/2006 22:23:05

I remember in the early days of Shareware, that the programs were free but you could charge a small fee if you distributed it on a disk (ie.The cost of the disk).

Therefore, I could put 100 freeware games on a CD, and charge, say, 2 euro for it. People aren't paying for the games, but rather the CD and my time in putting the 100 games on it.

ManicMatt · Mon 10/04/2006 23:24:17

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 10/04/2006 22:19:10
But distributing free games on a free CD, is legal.

A disc on a magazine is very rarely, if never, claimed as being "free" these days. (Unless you have seen it somewhere?)

Sure, back in the old days you had Amiga Action stinking up the place with their "free discs!" crap, but really, if it was free, why did the magazine cost more? (As I'm sure you're aware) I reckon they couldn't put "free!" anymore because of legal reasons or consumer rights. Or that it's BLOODY OBVIOUS IT'S NOT FREE.

Seriously, Â£6.49 for PC Format magazine? That's absurd. (And don't get me started on those one off magazines with old stuff put on a disc, and the magazine put in a nice box, with a Â£9.99 price tag attached. Are people made of money, or just stupid to buy that?)

Vince Twelve · Tue 11/04/2006 00:41:19

On the copyright issue: It's shakey. When "Anna" was published on the coverdisc for Level they were nice enough to send me an email asking for permission first. It's very simple to send an email to ask, and Microsoft should have done this. The README.txt included with my game says "If you would like to re-distribute this game, please leave all documentation including this file and the game's manual where they are. Do not alter any files. Also, send me an email at {my email} to inform me about any re-distributions. Thank you."

On the other hand, I don't care! It's so cool to have your game included with major magazines! Yay! Plus they've properly credited the developers and given website links. So, it's not like they're claiming ownership of the game.

Big thanks for the heads up LimpingFish!

Anym · Tue 11/04/2006 00:43:35

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 10/04/2006 22:19:10Shouldn't be - there is no legal binding going on, the developers have offered them for free, therefore they've offered outside sources like MS to pounce, & to really do what they want with it.

Just because the copyright holder is offering something for free download doesn't automatically imply the permission for everyone else to do the same. Of course, most of the time one can assume that the copyright holder had the intention to let others spread the game, which is why it's happening all the time, but it's no hard and fast rule. For example, the author might want to limit downloads, even free ones, to her own site to keep a close eye on the number of downloads or because he might want to retract it sometime or for other reasons.

Edit: Vince Twelve's post is actually a good example of this. It's free to download, but re-distribution carries additional requirements.

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 10/04/2006 22:19:10But distributing free games on a free CD, is legal. Because of the word "free", and the assumption by the distributor & player that the developer wanted the product to be "free".

As ManicMatt pointed out, the CD isn't free. For example you can't just send them a self-addressed stamped envelope an expect them to send it to you for free. And as you said it's an "assumption". While it's obviously true most of the time, it's certainly not legally binding in any way.

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 10/04/2006 22:19:10Surely you don't need to give permission when you're distributing freeware, because your ultimate goal as a freeware-ist, if that exists, is for all and anyone to play/use, no matter how they get it.

Of course not, but if there's nothing saying that something is "freeware", it technically isn't. And that's not taking into account that some more extreme definitions of freeware insist on free distribution or commercial non-exploitation, a condition that a cover CD just doesn't meet.

Quote from: LimpingFish on Mon 10/04/2006 22:23:05
I remember in the early days of Shareware, that the programs were free but you could charge a small fee if you distributed it on a disk (ie.The cost of the disk).

While this is certainly true for some shareware programs, it isn't necessarily for others. Fortunately, most shareware programs contain licensing information detailing what you can and can't do with it.

On a sidenote, in addition to the games themselves, the inclusion of 5 Days a Stranger might constitute a minor copyright infringement, as it self-admittedly "nicked" its music from RPG Maker 2000...

Gregjazz · Tue 11/04/2006 01:11:51

I'm not displeased, but they should've asked me for permission.

Vince Twelve · Tue 11/04/2006 02:04:39

Haha. I just noticed that on the front of the CD coverslip, the screengrab that they chose to go under the "Free Games!" label is a picture of the main menu from "anna." It's about the most boring picture they could have chosen from any one of these games... Just a white background with the word "anna" on it, and the control GUI. Sheesh. :

I love their design sense!

Scummbuddy · Tue 11/04/2006 02:12:34

haha. that is pretty funny. It just shows that they only spent 2 minutes on getting a screengrab, and just slapped it on the article.

But again, congrats to everyone!

Kweepa · Tue 11/04/2006 14:58:31

The biggest problem I foresee is that The Elevator uses graphics ripped from Silent Hill or Resident Evil or whatever it is. Otherwise, hooray!

Trumgottist · Tue 11/04/2006 16:23:40

I wondered briefly how such a big company with so many lawyers could do such a thing without asking permission. They should know better. But then I noticed "This is a production from Future Publishing Ltd". So it wasn't really MS.

To this date, I've granted permission to everyone that have asked me if they could put my games on a CD, but I would not like it if they took my games without permission.

Pumaman · Tue 11/04/2006 18:20:10

Indeed, it's not Microsoft themselves, it's just Future Publishing who have bought the rights from MS to call their magazine "Windows XP magazine".

Interesting, nonetheless. What's the target audience of that magazine; what's their normal sort of content?

Radiant · Tue 11/04/2006 19:10:41

Quote from: m0ds on Mon 10/04/2006 21:52:00
Because magazine CD's are "free", its legal. Because the games themselves are freeware,

Ethically speaking, that would be a proper use of freeware.

Legally speaking, the term "freeware" is meaningless, and it depends on what disclaimer (if any) is actually put with the software. Unless the software is truly public domain (which is very rare) it is automatically protected by copyright.

Practically speaking, they will obviously get away with it since they're a semi-big company, and in the American legal system an indie author hasn't got a snowball's of taking them to court.

Two out of three ain't bad, I suppose.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens · Tue 11/04/2006 19:41:57

As long as they don't claim ownership in any way or mislead the reader I don't see a problem.