User Blog:
Variables - DRM and Creative Commons

You're under arrest.

You probably didn't murder anyone. But to be on the safe side, we're going to have you spend your life in prison. It's only fair, there are plenty of murderers in the world, we want to guarantee they're all punished.

Doesn't sound very fair, does it?

Then why should your average consumer be treated like a thief, because he or she chooses to purchase an online product? It's a legitimate question. If you've never been subject to problems with copy protection, consider yourself lucky. Many people have purchased rather expensive software, only to be accused of theft by manufacturers.

What does this mean for RPGs? Well, it's a readily-known fact that piracy is rampant in all publishing. RPGs are no exception. PDFs are almost universal in the industry, only a few choice publishers have chosen to eschew that manner of distribution. Most embrace it, wanting to get sales wherever possible in such a tough economic climate. Some have chosen to add protections and passwords to their PDFs to curb piracy.

But let's face it: Many smaller RPG publishers would not exist if it weren't for the lower production costs brought on by digital publishing.

I think there's a disconnect somewhere. With the nature of the internet, people that wish to pirate copyrighted works will pirate copyrighted works.

Removing PDF from your repertoire only hurts paying customers. Effectively, limiting, removing or adding protections to a digital release only limits and irritates those that choose to pay for the product, thus labeling and punishing them as criminals. If one child in the elementary school class throws a spitwad, putting the whole class in detention only breeds dissent and anger.

So how does a publisher respond? Well, they adapt or die. Industry contender Goodman Games has offered an interesting reward for paying customers here. For those that pre-order their "Azagar's Book of Rituals" for fourth edition Dungeons and Dragons in their local game store or their online store, they bundle the purchase with the PDF for free. Catalyst Game Labs has released its new hit game Eclipse Phase under a Creative Commons license. Not only that, they encourage the distribution of their game. They've seeded torrents. They encourage you to purchase it if you like it, and they've priced it at a very reasonable 15$. These publishers recognize that publishing is changing. They're trying to adapt. Are these answers the definitive answers that'll save gaming? Maybe. But we'll never know unless someone tries.