Re: Wolf's Dungeon
I doubt he draws revenue from his blog (apart from the "please donate" stuff, and even that probably won't add up to much).
I figure it's more of a "tracking" thing - I don't think mega allows the uploader to see stats on how many people downloaded something,
so the only way to get good stats is from clicktracking on the blog.
Copy the link all over the internet and the author has no idea how popular their game is in the end.
Also, if they fix a bug, it'll live forever in some stale copies.
Another argument that often comes up, particularly with japanese devs, is some variant on a "privacy" argument.
Basically, they created it, they have the right to release it on their terms.
This usually means it's available for people who visit their blog, where it's clearly stated this is R18 content, provided at no warranty, and sometimes mentioned if modding is allowed or discouraged.
I've seen arguments of japanese devs getting upset at even someone linking to their blog without asking them for permission first. Luckily, the cases of that seem to be fewer.
Basically, their culture has a very deeply ingrained idea of respect, that can be a bit strange to us westerners. You can look at the front yard of a house, but you have to be invited to see the private backyard.
These games are often similar: These are made privately, for a relatively limited audience that understands what they are getting into and know where to look, not for pasting all over the internet.
Consider this: If the author suddenly, for whatever reason (an employer that frowns upon such works, for instance) needs to make his work disappear.
Let's not kid ourselves: This is the internet. It's impossible for things to completely disappear.
However, you can make things much less obvious to find. If something is linked from one blog, and maybe talked about in a few places, killing the blog kills what'll be most relevant to an employer.
If it's all over the internet in various copies and versions, much more difficult.
I'm not saying all devs are covering their tracks and preparing to take down their stuff. But we owe them the respect that we leave it as an option, not prevent it from the get-go.
Deep linking leads to uploading copies leads to uploading mods leads to very pissed off devs. Let's not go there.
I know most of you won't read all this, but those who did: Thanks.
Let's try and be respectful to those who provide us with free games at no charge.
And those who are still looking for the hero to save hyrule:
Simply punch the phrase "eluku99" into your internet porn locator of choice, and it should dispatch you posthaste to the place desired.
