Game Engine Marketing Models Compared

death00 writes: "GameDev has an interesting story about the success of Garage Games Torque engine (the engine behind Tribes 2). I especially find it interesting to see the number of developers working on high-quality games based on the Torque engine. The basic premise is that Garage Games gives a full license of the Torque engine to a team for a project for $100 USD per developer. The only caveat is that you must publish any finished works through Garage Games. Perhaps id software might consider doing this with the Quake III engine once the Doom III engine comes out. From my understanding, the Quake III engine currently licenses for significantly ($250,000 USD) more than that. Instead of waiting 2 more years and GPL'ing the full source, why not license it for cheap after Doom III comes out, then GPL later?"

Standard Slashdot Answer

[Anonymous Coward]

I, too, feel that companies should license out their products for peanuts. How stupid is id for licensing their Quake III game engine for ~$250,000?!? Doesn't id know that information wants to be free? I think its time for a boycott! Give me GPL or give me a pirated copy!!!

Next thing you know the RIAA is going to start asking consumers to start paying for music...the bastards!

on teh cheap?

[Anonymous Coward]

Whaaaa??? And give up the "$250,000 XCOPY"???
Then I'd have to give up my 10 Ferarris and 7 Vipers and 17 C5's and my 8000 square foot house where I live alone (well just me and the bevy of chicks I keep around).

How can you even ask that of me????

Translation......

[smileyy]

I'd like to license the Quake III engine because it rocks, but I'm too much of a cheap bastard to do so. Maybe if I post that on /. id will magically change their economic model for me.

Dear Mr. Carmack:

[FreeLinux]

As you can see from this long list of postings, you are not running your business correctly. Your apparent success is obviously just an illusion. Since you are an engineer we can certainly understand that you may have mis-interpreted your success as being success. After all, you cannot be expected to be both an engineer and a shrewd business man.

We strongly recommend that you abandon your present business practices and adopt one of these recommendations. The most prevalent recommendation is that you stop charging for your work and give it away. At the very least you should discount the price of your work so that it is in no way profitable. Since this is supposed to be a majority rule society, it is obvious that you must adopt this strategy.

This recommjendation is in spite of the fact that the majority of the recommendations come from people that have no record of success to demonstrate the validity of their recommendations. Indeed, most of these recommendations come from people who have no business experience beyond a high school business class and certainly have never been in the position of running a successful company.

None the less, it must be painfully obvious to a person of your intelligence that you must change your business policy immediately. To continue with your present practice is obviously folly.

Sincerely,

The community.

Re:Not that much

[jsse]

But, a basic BSP+PVS engine that supports Q3 maps and shaders CAN and HAS been developed in a weekend. I've DONE it.

It's nothing compare to my perpetual space station that support the life of entire human race I built at lunchtime. I just didn't launch it - I mean launching it to space, not launching it under GPL.

Forget about asking a copy of it. I just built it - i've DONE it, all you've to do is trust me.

Re:release it then

[KelsoLundeen]

You and Duke Nukem Forever, huh?