SteveSmith {l Wrote}:The way most profitable amateur projects seem to work is to stay closed-source and charge a small amount once out of beta testing. Is it possible to make money writing FOSS, or might we all as well keep our source hidden?
<remaxim>well, it is called freegamedev... means you develop games for other people for free xD
Andrew {l Wrote}:Even the suggestion to lock out users with modded versions is too far imo because then it means you can only use the game correctly if you pay.
freegamer {l Wrote}:I like the idea of charging for an online persistent version of your character(s). That way people can play for free, but if they want something that is automatically synchronised across machines and gives them the security that they'll always have access to it (as opposed to a free resource that is flakey), I think that'll fly.
<remaxim>well, it is called freegamedev... means you develop games for other people for free xD
1. Release the source code as FOSS but keep the art part closed (like id software does with their GPLed engines).
<remaxim>well, it is called freegamedev... means you develop games for other people for free xD
MaximB {l Wrote}:1. Release the source code as FOSS but keep the art part closed (like id software does with their GPLed engines).
charlie {l Wrote}:MaximB {l Wrote}:1. Release the source code as FOSS but keep the art part closed (like id software does with their GPLed engines).
Then it is no longer a FOSS game. It's a FOSS engine and a proprietary game.
<remaxim>well, it is called freegamedev... means you develop games for other people for free xD
charlie {l Wrote}:Kiba, whilst I respect your efforts and am happy you have been paid, you are being unrealistic in your outlook.
$200 might seem like a lot to you, but that's because you have low overheads - you live at home, still go to school, all your costs are covered. For somebody who lives in the real world, $200 is not enough for a week. It won't even cover rates (electricity, phone, internet, water, gas) for a month. My car costs me $200 a month. My food bill exceeds $200 a month. My child support is $500 a month. Then there's the mortgage, and so on.
There's making extra cash and there's making a living, and your tone indicates you have no idea of the difference between the two.
Getting paid a $150 for a month's work is slave labour.
kiba {l Wrote}:That's nonsense, charlie. It's a completely voluntary exchange between two consenting individual who completely understand what they're getting themsleves into even if the deal is worse than 3rd world sweatshop level wages(like China).
It's just your subjective opinion that it is "slave labor".
qubodup {l Wrote}:kiba {l Wrote}:That's nonsense, charlie. It's a completely voluntary exchange between two consenting individual who completely understand what they're getting themsleves into even if the deal is worse than 3rd world sweatshop level wages(like China).
It's just your subjective opinion that it is "slave labor".
You're missing the point, kiba. "$150/month" is a rethoric form to say "$150/month is way below standards". I think it is general opinion in your country of residence and in charlie's that $150/month can be rightfully compared to slave labour (again, not because it *is* slave labour, but because it is, like slave labour, way below standards).
On the other hand, I don't think you mentioned how many hours you will have worked in total for these $150. Do you have an hour estimate?
By donation, this is the way upon which Wikipedia rely, which is, IMHO, the most ethical economic model.
As shareware with a lifetime-license fee which covers and allows to upgrade the game installed on proprietary operating system, and as FOSS game, free of charge, for the free open source operating system. (This is the economic model for Xchat)
By sponsoring, if your game represents some common values with an organization or a company.
By subscription, this economic model fits perfectly for MMO but I don't think it will be transposable for other type of games.
By targeting several platforms, you should consider to sell the game on WiiWare or AppStore or other software retailers, even if it involves to change the license of your game for this platforms.
<remaxim>well, it is called freegamedev... means you develop games for other people for free xD
DarkBaboon {l Wrote}:I think there are several ways to make money with FOSS games :
- By donation, this is the way upon which Wikipedia rely, which is, IMHO, the most ethical economic model.
- By advertising, but I don't know if the game remains conform to the GPLv3 license... even if Ad Bard Network is used ?
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