Depends on proprietary media and files

[throwaway1037]

First of all, thank you for liberating the source code portion of Overgrowth. This is a significant positive step forward for respecting the freedom of video game players.

However, the game depends on proprietary media and files, without which it will not function. 100% libre OS distributions such as Parabola GNU+Linux-libre do not distribute proprietary media or files and as such this game is crippled in the free world because it cannot be played without those proprietary files.

Therefore, please may you release these proprietary media and files under a libre license, such as CC-BY-SA-4.0-Int-or-later, so that the game can be played in freedom?

This would also make Overgrowth eligible to be featured on the Libre Game Wiki, a wiki about 100% libre video games.

Moreover, people will then be legally allowed to make crazy modifications to the graphics, sound, etc. in freedom.

[McSinyx]

Whether or not the data are to be released under a libre license in the near future, it will be easier for distros to redistribute the engine if data lookup is configurable (instead of hardcoded or pwd like currently).

[tuxayo]

I think the culture for paying for stuff that is free and respectable isn't nearly strong enough (tragedy of the commons) to be able to have 100% libre games that can still have a paid team. There are cultural changes to push, meanwhile I think we should settle with games having libre code and non-libre assets. As long as the game has some sales that justify it.

From the general question on the potential for domination, oppression and abuse which implies libre software when we want to limit it, almost all the issues are related to the code IMHO. So I think politically with Overgrowth we have almost a total victory.

Of course there would still be further benefits and a huge contribution to libre art culture to have the game 100% libre. So +1 to have a funding model that allows to have professional developers and freeing the game assets also.

[throwaway1037]

I think we should settle with games having libre code and non-libre assets media. As long as the game has some sales that justify it.

Proprietors profiting does not justify restricting people. All published works should be libre (freedom-respecting).

with Overgrowth we have almost a total victory.

That's what makes it just so annoying. We're so close to being able to use Overgrowth in freedom, but as I said in the first post, we can't package it for 100% libre system repositories until it is 100% libre or use it in the free world because it's crippled without the media also being libre.

Of course there would still be further benefits and a huge contribution to libre art culture to have the game 100% libre. So +1 to have a funding model that allows to have professional developers and freeing liberating the game assets media also.

Agreed. Restricting people from copying digital published works doesn't work or make sense anyway because it is trivially easy and convenient to do so.

[tuxayo]

Proprietors profiting does not justify restricting people. All published works should be libre (freedom-respecting).

That not the same magnitude of loss of freedom and possible oppression when the code source is libre but not the media.

That's what makes it just so annoying. We're so close to being able to use Overgrowth in freedom

So close but almost 100% of the funding sustainability difference lies with the media being libre or not. As of now, liberating the media would be a big hit on the funding. We need to find ideas of funding models or how to push for a cultural change so more people find natural to pay for stuff when they don't strictly need to. Or else it's the tragedy of the commons and people wanting to make libre games don't get much funding and can't go far.

As long as it's not widespread to have funding models that work well for fully libre games or/and the cultural changes necessary for so, natural selection suggests that the only professional games "surviving" are those non-libre, at least about the media.

[throwaway1037]

That's what's wrong with society: it's set up to accommodate restricting people with published works, and not everyone is willing to support artists.

Also, many 100% libre games exist; see the Libre Game Wiki, which suggests they can survive.

Again, being able to make more money by restricting people with proprietary works does not justify making the work proprietary. Peoples' freedom should be respected which necessitates that all published works be libre.

[McSinyx]

While I agree with this sentiment, it's not convincing to the copyright holder, which is a for-profit company. Furthermore, assets may not fall really well under the software category: non-free assets do not give copyright holders power over copy owners in the same way.

Indeed copyright always give monopolistic power, but that's a different issue that should be solved at a legislative level. A good compromise could be to shorten the copyright period, which is what we're advocating here now.

The question is, to how long? Need the assets be released as libre right now? One year later? Three years? Five? IMHO when the revenue becomes marginal, whose starting point was already marked by the relicense of the engine. Why so? Wolfire has gained my trust to commit to software freedom for their every past work, and I'd rather see them stay financially stable to make more games. After all that's how copyright should work.

The distribution argument is not convincing IMHO though since it's purely technical. As soon as the engine could look up assets flexibly at run time distros can include it just fine.

[throwaway1037]

@McSinyx, you made the mistake of referring to published works as "assets". This term implies the only value that works have to society are financial, which leads to the conclusion that proprietors should be able to restrict people so long as they can make more money that way.

Also, to reply to the issue of "compromise", there can be no compromise for freedom; the freedom of published works is just as fundamental to society as the freedom of speech, or the freedom of the press.

Also, as I explained in the very first message on this thread, 100% libre distros cannot include proprietary works in their repositories.

[throwaway1037]

@tuxayo, the tragedy of the commons doesn't apply to digital files because they are, for all intents and purposes, an infinite resource; it's not like copying files is going to exhaust the universal supply of bits.

[throwaway1037]

Bump: @WolfireGames

[throwaway1037]

@WolfireGames it's been three months and a week since I opened this issue, and nobody has responded.

We must be able to play Overgrowth in freedom! We want to participate and package it to work on 100% libre OSs.

Please may somebody reply?