angular graphics
Banned
http://indiestatik.com/2013/06/04/t...ported-to-pc-developer-says-its-not-stealing/
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...d-to-pc-but-the-original-dev-doesnt-mind-much
Ska Studios responds:
A similar, but not identical case, is that of fans porting the daytime levels of Sonic: Unleashed to PC without permission from Sega. It's not identical, because 1) not the entire game was ported 2) you need a copy of Sonic: Generations to run the ported content (but of course that doesn't stop the pirate from downloading an illegal copy of Sonic: Generations).
The port is currently in beta and has no permissions from Ska Studios to even exist. But this isnt a problem, according to the developer, as they say theyre not stealing anything from Ska Studios. They go on to elaborate that Ska had no intention to port the game to PC, so its not like they are losing any potential profit. Instead, the developer sees themselves as providing a service for those who wanted the game on PC, but had ho hope of that happening.
The ethics of publication
The view was expressed that, with respect to the authors, it is not very nice to publish the game on the PC. I have to argue that the part of the authors are not very nice to publish the game exclusively for the Xbox 360, making it impossible for PC gamers to play such a great game.
About Piracy
Piracy yes, that is bad. On the other hand, we did not steal the game for the Xbox 360; we released it for the PC port. Given that the developers ignored the PC platform, about any loss of profit for them is not out of the question. After all, if they wanted to earn money, then the game would be issued on all available platforms. If the game came out on PC officially, then this thread would not exist.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...d-to-pc-but-the-original-dev-doesnt-mind-much
To this, Barabus responded in a comment to the IndieStatik report, "Users always have the option to pay for the game or not. This also applies to Xbox 360 which has the opportunity to play pirated games."
He then explained that the PC version lacked some of the XBLA original's features such as co-op, online play, and achievements. "Original Xbox 360 version for pirates is more attractive. I gave only the opportunity to play for those people who have no Xbox 360."
"This is not piracy. This is restoration of justice."
Ska Studios responds:
I guess you could say my reaction is mixed. Im flattered that theres this much interest in Vampire Smile on PC. Im not mad about the crack itself; in fact, Im actually pretty impressed. But Im bewildered by the crackers attempt to justify the morality of it. He assumes a lot about why Vampire Smiles not on PC yet, and he could have cleared up a lot of those assumptions by just emailing me. I get that piracy is a service problem, but thats a consequence, not a justification.
A similar, but not identical case, is that of fans porting the daytime levels of Sonic: Unleashed to PC without permission from Sega. It's not identical, because 1) not the entire game was ported 2) you need a copy of Sonic: Generations to run the ported content (but of course that doesn't stop the pirate from downloading an illegal copy of Sonic: Generations).