May 2010
1 post
Does Piracy really have an impact?
Written by Mary Hilton Wolfire programmer: poor PC ports, not piracy, hurt business Most game developers will trot out all the “statistics” of piracy when defending their need to have DRM in their games. However, one programmer disagrees, and in this article, he states why: Another view of game piracy His points should be taken seriously when game developers talk about DRM,...
April 2010
32 posts
Beowulf | World - ReclaimYourGame
Beowulf | World - ReclaimYourGame - Community group on Playfire. You will need to join at Playfire to be a part of the Beowulf | World - ReclaimYourGame community. We’re also as two individual clans/groups on Playfire, the Reclaim Your Game (Group) and Beowulf | World (Clan). What’s new in the gaming community??
Beowulf | World - The Gamers Community * For example * Any way you want...
5 tags
Beowulf | World - The Gamers Community
beowulfworld:
Beowulf | World - The Gamers Community
Please join The gamers Community at http://www.beowulfworld.com/
Thank you,
Lambert van Bodegom lambert@beowulfworld.com M +31(0) 622 747 757 S lambert.van.bodegom
An Interview with Daniel Kaplan, Developer of Bob...
Interview Conducted by Michelou RYG was honored to be able to interview Daniel Kaplan, CEO of Ludosity Interactive and one of the developers of Indie hit Bob Came in Pieces. Daniel is a down-to-earth guy who generously gave his time to answer our questions. English is not Daniel’s first language and I have not edited his responses so that the charm and authenticity of his answers comes...
2 tags
This Just In: DRM Free at Last →
So I had 40% of library, approx 1300 songs, that I had paid for but couldn’t use as I wanted to.
8 tags
An Open Letter to the CEO of Ubisoft, Yves... →
Didacts and Narpets: Crypt 4 Free →
Crypt 4 free is an encryption program, developed by Secure Action, which provides 128-bit DESX as well as 448-bit Blowfish encryption for your sensitive data. The program is fast and easy to use. Other features include; a secure wipe eraser, built in compression (zip) and the ability to encrypt text email, plus chat programs such as MSN, ICQ, etc. You can also include your own riddles in case...
7 tags
Sega Re-Examines Uniloc’s Potential For Alpha...
It’s somewhat of an interesting tale: There was once a company called Sega who used a DRM called Uniloc on a game called Football Manager 2009. It was a marriage made in Heaven…then all of a sudden their honeymoon was drastically cut short. A mob of irate gamers bearing issues of their online activation system rocked up on their doorstep. A distribution of justice was imminent. Not Sega or...
8 tags
Ubisoft Continues The Silent Treatment As BlueByte...
Nothing seems to be working for Ubisoft and their notoriously-hated DRM. From preparation, marketing, testing, implementation, right up to its execution – nothing is going right at the moment. Their most recent response and intentions to make drastic revisions upon their DRM has been marred by their unvoiced concerns over Settlers 7 customers who are still waiting for a DRM solution into their...
5 tags
Real Value Of Piracy Unquantifiable, Says US...
It’s what most gamers already know and with the US Government on their side it’s now confirmed: the economic effects of Piracy, as a whole, are “difficult, if not impossible, to quantify.” (Source: Neoseeker, US Government Admits Piracy Estimates Are Phony )
While Piracy itself is the cause of finding real and precise numbers, the US Government, along with their wide range of sources, experts...
4 tags
GamerSyndrome Podcast Episode 7 - DRM →
In episode 7 we take a step back from the typical news related discussions and focus on something that we thought out listeners might find a little more interesting. The discussion topic this week is about DRM (Digital Rights Management) and piracy.
1 tag
“You can’t just say it, you got to get the people to say it to each other.”
– James Farley, CMO Ford (via thedigitaldiva, stylemesocial)
4 tags
“I am getting fed up with the crap these developers keep pulling when it comes to...”
– Genki from Damnlag.com
2 tags
Since She Left: Do You Feel That? →
Swim toward the light, to the gap that’s just big enough for you to fit through, and once you’re through, make your own path. Forge ahead. It’s easier than you think. Because the goals you have for yourself, the things that you really want to do are obtainable. Goals, the destination of a journey can be yours, but you’re going to have to work for it. I’m going to have to work hard to get...
1 tag
1 tag
4 tags
6 tags
Some Good News For Those With Trine
You’ll be happy to know that the retail version of Frozenbyte’s 2D Platformer, Trine, will now come DRM-Free thanks to their latest 1.06 patch. Players can now play the game without SecuROM - something which RYG is happy to hear about given our collective stance against this invasive and annoying form of DRM. You can find the recent Patch Notes HERE and you can also download the...
4 tags
A Gamer's Moral Identity
How many times have we seen, read or even identified with gamers who have legitimately bought their games over the counter, only to be royally screwed by the DRM and the gaming publishers they have supported? How many of us have even identified with this particular gamer who went to get a cracked executable to circumvent the DRM that was giving him headaches?
I recently bought a copy of...
8 tags
Ubisoft "Improves" Upon Its Shallow Promise
It’s hard to imagine what they can improve given one of their invisible spokesperson in their European offices stated that, “as with any online technology, we are constantly working to evolve and improve it.” (Source: Eurogamer, Ubisoft: Our DRM will “evolve, improve”). Irrespective of any noteworthiness in the fact that they’ll only use this DRM on their...
4 tags
“I wouldn’t say that it’s flawless, though, or that another competitor couldn’t...”
– Anonymous Representative Of A PC Gaming Distribution Service. From “Does Steam Have An Unfair Monopoly Over PC Gaming?”
1 tag
“Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper,...”
– Steve Jobs (via davidkaneda)
3 tags
Redesigning RYG {Part 4}
2. THE FACES BEHIND RYG MIDFINGR (Technical Representative) E: administrator@reclaimyourgame.com Like SBlade, Midfingr’s campaign for non-invasive DRM schemes traces itself back to 2006 when StarForce utilised their heavily-criticised DRM scheme, which was prone to a number of hardware risks. He transferred a lot of his experience, knowledge and expertise of end-user DRM methodologies and...
2 tags
Redesigning RYG {Part 3}
]]]]]]>]]]]>]]> 2. THE FACES BEHIND RYG DARKRAVEN (Site Administrator) E: administrator@reclaimyourgame.com
]]]]]]>]]]]>]]> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
]]]]]]>]]]]>]]>Her pragmatic and sensible approach to the fight against invasive DRM measures has been RYG’s most trusted source of inspiration as she continues to manage the...
6 tags
Statutory Conditions
As many of you may or may not have noticed Ubisoft’s DRM and their issues have now extended to far beyond to what was observed and seen in Assassin’s Creed 2. People who have purchased Settler’s 7, particularly in Australia, have been having severe connection issues with some even claiming that the problem isn’t expansive from one specific location but to the entire nation....
3 tags
The Age-Old "Catch-22 Situation" of All DRM
The big irony is that everyone knows all protection gets broken eventually. It’s deemed a success if it holds up for a matter of weeks, never mind months. A year later, nobody cares. The only type of protection likely to go beyond a short-term win is when all games are played in the cloud and naughty thieves-to-be only get to play them through thin clients. Even then, will it work? Games have...
7 tags
2 tags
Redesigning RYG {Part 2}
2. THE FACES BEHIND RYG LISA ARNOLD (Managing Partner) E: administrator@reclaimyourgame.com After working with Site Maintenance and Communications Supervisor for RYG for over 12 months, she was offered the position of leading RYG as Site Manager back in October 2009. During her time she’s been heavily involved with consumers and their DRM-related issues, particularly with SecuROM, which...
2 tags
Redesigning RYG {Part 1}
1. WHO WE REALLY ARE Reclaim Your Game (RYG), established by various PC Gamers in May 2008, is a consumer-focused organization advocating against the design and implementation of any invasive DRM scheme presently active within the PC Gaming Industry. Their long-term focus and ambition to “educate” and “flood” the market with End-User Friendly DRM & DRM-free schemes is reliant upon...
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
“From 30,000 feet, creating looks like art. From ground level, it’s a to-do list.”
– Ben Arment (via davidkaneda)
March 2010
19 posts
6 tags
“Well wouldn’t you rather use a service that has the potential to be...”
– Ulysses Mockett, Reclaim Your Game
8 tags
SecuROM: Now In Green
Green Man Gaming, the new digital retailer due to be unleashed in April and Sony DADC have entered a groundbreaking deal to integrate Sony DADC’s world leading SecuROM Digital Rights Management solution into Green Man Gaming’s revolutionary digital retail platform. Source: mcvuk.com, Green Man Gaming Reveals Sony Partnership
1 tag
“I have no problem with people believing anything at all, as long as people are...”
– “Doc” & “Taps”, A Conversation between coffee breaks
3 tags
7 tags
Lacking The Foresight, Ubisoft-Style
It’s sort of understandable that some playing in ‘poor-Internet-connectivity’ regions can be affected by Ubisoft’s DRM. But to affect a country (like Australia?) Internode, one of Australia’s larger ISPs, has this to say: Seeming to affect players in every territory at random, and Australians in particular, the server error has caused both intermittent and ...
8 tags
“Booted twice—and progress lost—on my single-player C&C4 game because my DSL...”
– Jeff Green requoted from Ars Technica’s EA’s Mouthpiece Foiled by C&C’s DRM
8 tags
Out With Atkinson, In With R18+ Games!
Taken from RYG’s Website It’s still murmurs here and there. However, if you’re an Australian gamer and been the voice against Michael Atkinson’s stance on R18+ Games, then you know how much of a joy it has been to hear his departure from the Attorney General’s office. You’ll also hear by way of Gamers4Croydon that the new South Australian Attorney General, John...
3 tags
2 tags
3 tags
"Sunsetting" DRM - A Guide
In Essense: It’s really removing the DRM attached to a product, such as a game, after it’s fulfilled its function. After it’s fulfilled its function? Yes. DRM, in practical terms, is used solely to protect a digital/electronic product, such as a game, from all aspects of “casual piracy” during the products initial retail release. Why “Sunset”? Once a...
7 tags
RYG's unhappy with ECA's weak call on Ubisoft's...
Taken from RYG’s front page With all the hubbub about Ubisoft’s DRM, many gamers have been searching high and low for solutions to the problem of DRM, and where they can get help. Reclaim Your Game is the only independent PC gaming advocate in existence so far that’s concerned about the issues relating to the ill-effects of DRM. There are other organizations that claim to be...
3 tags
1 tag
“Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.”
– (via suzannexie)
9 tags
This Is DRM At Work →
(via alexflint) Be it Ubisoft or EA, it’s a hilarious summation of what invasive DRM measures can do to a customer if ill-prepared…and what Pirates do to Publishers who think less of their customers.
5 tags
Can You Fight DRM With Patience?
The counter question by BadAnalogGuy from SlashDot Games:
How does waiting for a publisher to loosen DRM equate to fighting DRM?
6 tags
“It is possible to use DRM on a short-term basis for new releases to give some...”
– An excerpt from Temporary DRM written by David Levine from Against Monopoly: Defending The Right To Innovate
9 tags
Between DRM Zombies & “The One Man Show”
With RYG recently finishing up their game review of Positech Game’s latest space-simulation, Gratuitous Space Battles, we thought it would be nice to catch up with a one-on-one with the man who is living the dream, Cliff Harris. Gracious as he was, he opted for a two-part interview with Ulysses Mockett, which did involve some Jane Austen and David Bowie’s son in a once-off meet some...
6 tags
“At a recent conference, a very outspoken anti-DRM guy said to me, “[PC]...”
– An email conversation with Bill Rosenblatt, GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies