In my previous blogs I have been discussing the concept of produsage, how it applies to various key domains and the significant benefits and disadvantages. In today’s blog I will open up on open source software, what it is and how it is related to gaming.
While I was sipping my coffee away and listening to Brun’s week 9 podcast on ‘Open Source Software’, I started to ask myself maybe I should be engaging more into open source software rather than having to fork large sums of money for over-priced closed source software such as PhotoShop or Office. So I did some searching around the net and discovered that there are many, many cheaper alternatives to the usual expensive closed source software that most people need. In a blog I read earlier: Free, Open Source Alternatives to Expensive Programs it provides links to download assorted programs that are free alternatives to opposing expensive ‘traditional’ ones. For example, a link in the blog directs you to download a free program called ‘GIMP’. This program to me seems very alike to PhotoShop, of course PhotoShop is going to be better, but the main difference is the fact that I would have to pay around $200 for PhotoShop but now I have downloaded a similar program free of charge. I would also like to address that this site provides links to two gaming open source softwares (because I am a gamer after all), Sauerbraten and Frets on Fire, the free choices compared to halo 2 and guitar hero.
These fine examples of open source software are what Brun’s addresses in Open Source Software Development: Probabilistic Eyeballs, that they are freely useable, edited and can be seen by everyone. That large communities will gather together online, decide what the software should be like and what goals it should have. Apart that open source software is free, it is also frequently updated in today’s changing world.
In Open Source Gaming: The Apricot Interview, the team who created Apricot, an open source 3D game which was built on itself by open source software such as Crystal Space explains why they created it on a open source model. According to Ton of the Apricot team, he states that though the giants of the billion dollar global market of video games may provide high quality products but their accessibility of their systems for developers or students is very limited. This is why they decided to fill the gap to allow for millions of people to access the quality tools and software to be able to make distributable 3D gaming content.
This game exemplifies that open source software attracts people by the many, due to the individual awards that can be gained. That social capital will be increased of distributors with significant content in shared, collaborative environment.
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