[Episode 42] Wherefore Freeware

[Ravenlock]

http://image.colonyofgamers.com/imcast.png (http://www.immortalmachines.com/)

PC gaming doesn’t always have to be expensive. There are a bevy of offerings for you to peruse free of charge. We discuss a wide variety, starting with the growing free-to-play MMO phenomenon. Turbine has been in the news lately with the transformations of its long-running titles Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online. And Eastern developers before them seem to have found great success in the free play model. What’s in it for the company, and for the player?

The domain of free games does not end there, of course. Listen in as the IM crew educates your co-host in what kinds of fully-featured freebies are out there for downloading, and why someone might develop a game only to give it away. And no discussion of free game content would be complete without a nod to the modders that have been creating content for games since the beginning.

Give a listen to Wherefore Freeware (http://www.immortalmachines.com/?p=547) at our always low price. And don’t miss Ravenlock’s regular Colony of Gamers feature with Bandango, Free and Worth Every Penny (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/tags.php?tag=worth+every+penny), for a showcase of free games.

Hosted & Summarized by James [Vigil80]
Participants are Robert [Trebor], Chris [jpublic], and Turner
Produced by Clayton [Voodoo]

Direct Download (http://www.immortalmachines.com/public/podcast/Wherefore_Freeware.mp3)

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[civil]

I hate to be that guy, but this is a particular peeve of mine: Wherefore doesn't mean what 99.9% of humanity think it does. It does not mean "where", but rather "why". When Juliet says, "Wherefore art thou Romeo" she is really asking "Why are you Romeo" (or more accurately "Why are you a Montague").

Anyway, I don't mean to poop on your lovely podcast. :o Really and truly, I <3 IM! I'm just trying to educate y'all.

I know, I know. I'm an asshole. :(

[Ravenlock]

I'd like to state for the record that I had no involvement with this episode beyond posting the thread. All titles, descriptions, and other phraseology for Episode 42 was the work of Vigil80. ;)

EDIT: Though if you listen to the episode (ahem), the question of "Why Freeware" is in fact posed, so that may well have been what he had in mind.

[civil]

I read your reply, and I still come out looking like an asshole!

Such is my fate... :(

[Ravenlock]

Awww. Your intentions were good and we still love you. ;)

[Vigil80]

EDIT: Though if you listen to the episode (ahem), the question of "Why Freeware" is in fact posed, so that may well have been what he had in mind.
It was, in fact. Thank you. :)

As I recall, most of the discussion was why one should play free, with a side of why one might create free. Where the free stuff is was mostly at the end, and in some links to come soon.

[civil]

Okay, okay. I get it! I'm an asshole! Sheesh! :p

[Voodoo]

Okay, okay. I get it! I'm an asshole! Sheesh! :p
Civil! I had no idea you listen to our podcast. Is it the music or the sexy voices?

[civil]

Civil! I had no idea you listen to our podcast. Is it the music or the sexy voices?
The Mrs and I listen to it as we make love.

[Vigil80]

As promised, here are some of the games and sites mentioned during the show.

Action
Alien Swarm (http://store.steampowered.com/app/630/)
America's Army (http://www.americasarmy.com/)
Battlefield Heroes (http://www.battlefieldheroes.com/en/)
Combat Arms (http://combatarms.nexon.net/)
KOS (http://kos.dontblynk.com/)
Quake Live (http://www.quakelive.com/)
Steel Storm, Episode 1 (http://www.steel-storm.com/)
War Rock (http://www.gamersfirst.com/warrock/)
WolfTeam (http://wolfteam.softnyx.net/)

RPG
Dungeons and Dragons Online (http://www.ddo.com/)
Lord of the Rings Online (http://www.lotro.com/)
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (http://megaten.aeriagames.com/)

Strategy
Company of Heroes Online (http://www.companyofheroes.com/)
League of Legends (http://www.leagueoflegends.com/)

Mod Directories
http://www.moddb.com/
http://www.fpsbanana.com/

http://jayisgames.com/ - "Flash and Casual game reviews."

[Fatal_Papercut]

PC gaming is my primary hobby, and I consider myself very fortunate to have found the Immortal Machines podcast (especially since it was buried on the second page of my Google search).

I've enjoyed what I've heard so far, and I look forward to future episodes. :D

[Ravenlock]

Thanks! It's great to have you with us. :)

We've got another episode coming out this week, so I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts! (And as we always mention in the show, if there's something you want us to cover, send us an e-mail! We love listener mail. ;) )

EDIT: I should check my e-mail more. :p

[Fatal_Papercut]

Regarding this podcast:

I believe that freeware games make for a healthier games market overall, and not just for companies that benefit from micro-transactions.

For this holiday season, I am helping a friend of mine to build a new gaming PC for his brother. At the moment, said brother's entire gaming collection consists of StarCraft 2 and Lord of the Rings Online. Without having to spend another dollar, he'll also be able to install and try great free games such as you have mentioned in this and previous podcasts: Alien Swarm, America's Army 3, Minecraft, Company of Heroes Online, etc. With Steam installed, he'll also be able to demo a number of other games as well (I'll be pushing to get him to try Civ 5).

There are those gamers that play only one or two games for years, but most people I know tend to favor at least a little variety, and the variety of the PC market knows no bounds. I think freeware helps to at least whet a gamer's appetite, and ultimately leads them to explore for more games, from freeware to indie titles to full-blown retail releases. And with PCs at the vanguard of online distribution, shopping for and purchasing games has never been easier.

Where would the market be--hell, the entire industry!--if iD software hadn't used the shareware model to distribute Wolfenstein 3D or Doom? Carmack and company were able to do it because there wasn't some guy in a suit that said they couldn't do it. They didn't have to pay licensing fees or worry about censorship issues inherent with developing games for the consoles of their era. The didn't have to cut through any red tape to get their games published on a tightly controlled channel like XBLA. They simply told everyone to copy floppies for their buddies and spread the joy. To this day, anyone can still do this for the PC market.

Freeware isn't just something that we gamers get as a nice little bonus; it is something that is integral to the evolution and survival of the gaming industry. Some kid hammering out code on a freeware title in his basement today will be the lead developer of a triple-A title a few years from now.

[Doogie2K]

I miss shareware. I played the shit out of Episode 1 of Wolfenstein 3D. I could probably navigate that game in my sleep and still 100% it on the hardest difficulty, I played it so much.

These 30-minute demos are for the birds. Give me a functional piece of the game that's more than just a vertical slice, so I can really decide if it's for me. And so you don't get stuck being represented by a shitty demo.