On Fri, 9 Jan 1998, Chris Cracknell wrote:
> then go ahead and distribute it, if you want to make a profit doing it
> then go for that too. Even though activision and atari claim they have
It would be highly hypocritical of me to go ahead and release a Starpath
CD without asking for permission, and even worse to take profit from it.
Besides, as someone who's gotten written up in Wired magazine and is
mentioned here and there on the net, I can not "hide between the cracks"
like those guys burning CD-Rs in their free time. I'd rather not even
suffer the finger-pointing that could result from such actions, regardless
of whether I'd be liable for a lawsuit.
Most of all, though, I don't feel as though I should have to stoop so low
as to resort to piracy to make a buck.
As much as I'd like to take credit for the Stella CD, the real people who
need credit are the programmers, and this documentary is my way of showing
my appreciation for their work, and legally earning me a profit to boot!
As a 27 year old film grad who is kinda cutting his teeth doing low res
character animations on the web, I'd like to have more genuine
accomplishments to be proud of before I formally enter middle-age. I am
an opportunitist and someday I hope to wind up in the higher echelons of
computer animation (for TV or videogames), television production, or the
emerging web/interactive TV industry.
I need to spend my time wisely. The CD did not play to my creative
strengths, but the documentary does.
[conspiracy proposals deleted]
Let me just say this regarding my stance on this sort of thing. If I
start seeing bootleg CD-Rs float around, I'll blame you. 'Nuff said?
My goal in life is not to supply everyone who wants to play a Supercharger
game with a copy of the CD, nor do I see piracy as a proper means to that
noble end. I distributed a few hundred out there which is in perportion
to what can be expected from an individual with a busy life.
> In your place I wouldn't let my desire to create be blocked by corporate
Piracy isn't creation, it's exploitation.
> bullshit. Besides, there's a certain romantic charm to being a software
> pirate, especially if nobody is being hurt by the piracey.
My own sense of self-worth would be hurt by the piracy. I consider myself
a creative person with something meaningful to contribute to society as an
artist in one medium or another. I want to be able to take full credit
for what I do, and not be ashamed of it or need to distance myself from
it.
The CD was my first babystep towards creating something I could be proud
of since I graduated from college. I can't feel as proud of it today as I
was when it was released because I'm already doing more challenging work
as an animator at my dayjob, or as a video editor by night.
My agenda in the 2600 domain isn't to exploit the past, it's to appreciate
it, study it, process it, and to build upon it.
I feel much better about whatever indirect role I played in the creation
of Oystron than I would feel about having any part in a shady piracy deal
for profit.
I am having the signature certificate award matted and framed currently at
a cost of $50 (minus the engraving to be added later). I really want to
encourage all of you guys to code for Stella more than anything else and
if I had more free cash I'd dangle a reasonable cash award as well. It
means that much to me to see stellalist be more active and to see new
kernel ideas spring forth.
The documentary is part of this too, which is why I'm plugging you guys by
putting your games on it. Once you guys see the programmers talk about
their experiences you will UNDERSTAND the stuff they went through, but at
the same time, you have to look at them and realize that although some of
them are out of the business, many of them went on to be CEOs of game
companies and are currently highly involved in the modern industry.
They have the perspective to look back at where we came from, and where we
are, and render an HONEST assessment of the VCS archetecture, and how
games were vs. how games are today.
Listen, although they knew what they were supposed to say, not ONE of the
programmers said they PREFER writing for today's systems in today's
industry. Some of them expressed mourning for the lost age of "one man,
one game", and the tremendous sense of satisfaction that comes from
completing a pleasing VCS kernel.
Many of these guys are realists and they know that they have to live in
the now, but if they had more time, they'd probably be right in here with
us getting back down to basics.
Every VCS coder should realize that by the very nature of their autonomy
and the imposed limitations on the VCS, they are creating more
honest-to-goodness videogames than today's commercial publishers. As Rob
Fulop said, "this system's all about gameplay". It cuts through the BS
and forces you to deliver the goods. Perhaps the mainstream gaming public
out there sees things in reverse, but that doesn't mean they are right.
It's the mainstream public that seems content with arcades filled with
nothing but fighters and driving sims and home games based around CD-Rom
"spectatorware" vs. solid replay-value gameplay.
Maybe you won't make any money off of your game, but you should certainly
take the task of writing games for the VCS seriously, and not be ashamed
to devote your free time towards it, because it really is videogaming at
its purest level.
I want to instill that sense of adventure in the VCS design, and the
pleasure that can come from writing within the VCS environment vs. the PC
or PSX domain.
I don't want to just make a cheap buck on pirate-ware...
--end of essay--
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