magerette
Hedgewitch
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- October 18, 2006
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Tech site bit-tech.net has an op ed by Joe Martin delving into the state of abandonware, both substantively and ethically.
From the intro:
From the intro:
After going into some detail about what constitutes abandonware and what makes it legal or illegal, the author gets into what's going on now to make it more available:As PC gamers, we tend to be as much about the good games of old as the up and coming new releases. We know that, while Crysis is all very pretty and fun, there’s a lot of nostalgic joy to be had by going back to some of the old Infocom titles....being primarily PC gamers we’re in the unique position of being able to get a lot of our favourite old games easily and for free.
The artcile ends with a list of the author's favorite abandonware, including Albion:Thankfully though, in this grim and mostly copyrighted situation there are a number of good people out there who are fighting to make abandonware more available.
The motives for doing this can vary greatly of course and, while there’s a large amount of people who just want to download free, old games, there’s also a lot of folks who want to see the software saved and preserved.
Preserving these games serves two uses – not only do you ensure it can survive even if physical copies are destroyed, but you can keep it until the copyright runs out and it becomes true abandonware. Once the copyright has expired games are often legally distributable...
More information.Though the learning curve can be pretty steep in this top-down RPG, the game is consistently fair with players who take the time to explore and understand the complex world of Albion. While the game itself is a fairly familiar mix that’s similar to the old Final Fantasy games – top-down navigation and turn-based combat for the most part.
What really sells Albion however is the obvious love and care which the fictional world has been built with, including some rather striking artwork
- Joined
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