Jump to content

Copy Protection


Recommended Posts

There have been some interesting discussions pertaining to the latest round of Starforce debacles that have taken place on Bluesnews recently. Here is a post I made in one currently going on. If you read the whole thread, you'll notice another 3000AD regular taking part. LINK

quote:

"What makes a title a retail success? Is it copy protection? The fact that Call of Duty, Diablo, Baldur's Gate, Battlefield 1942, Doom, or Half-Life were pirated to some extent is indisputable. And yet they were successful. The inheritant quality of these games is clear, but that is NOT what made them successful. The variables that go into determining a title's success are many, but I tried to boil it down to a few important ones.

1) Innovation of concept. Example: Doom. It heralded in a new way of playing through perfected 3D deathmatch.

2) Popular Culture Relevance. Example: Any WW2 title made even remotely well. After 'Saving Private Ryan' and "Band of Brothers' ushered in an era of rememberance of WW2 history, and 'Medal of Honor:AA' capitilzed brilliantly on this, as well as 'Call of Duty'.

3) Market Readiness: Remeber RPG's were dead? Remember when Baldur's Gate came out and everyone went nuts? The market has to be primed for the title you release. The right game at the right time concept.

4) Technological Advancement. Doom 3. Sure it wasn't a particularly innovative title, but it sure looked pretty.

5) Brand/Franchise Recognition. Hence the industry's love affair with 'sequelitis'.

6) Effective Marketing. Not just spending money on ads, but marketing it to the actual target audience. Hopefully there actually IS a target audience, and the developer is not just making a game for an imaginary group of fans that doesn't exists. See "Psychonauts" for an example of a great game with no market to sell it to.

7) Cater to the Hardcore Fan. Most recently, Gal Civ 2 is an awesome example of this done to perfection. The hardcore are the ones who spend time on message boards singing the praises of the game, creating the ever elusive "Buzz".

8) Have a 'Twist'. Tribes gave us teamplay with jetpacks and massive outdoor environments. God bless Dynamix for that gem. NOTE: See 'Tribes Vengeance' as an example of how to fail miserably at #7

There are probably more, and in truth most successful games combine many of these. Ultimately, though, copy protection has NOTHING to do with a title's success, unless you want to count the sales you lose by treating every consumer like a potential thief. This is not rocket science. Worry about making a game that resonates with your potential buyers, and stop worrying about people who never would have bought your game in the first place. "

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...