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Re: Setting rules for source requirements on artwork in games



Hi,

On 11.03.2014 03:54, Bas Wijnen wrote:
[...]
>> And now compare your game with Red Eclipse. Gfpoken, free or non-free,
>> what do you think?
> 
> I think gfpoken is clearly free.  Since I still don't know what files
> we're talking about for Red Eclipse, I don't know about it.

>>> What sort of problems are the reason it isn't in main?
>>
>> I guess you should take a look at Martin's comments in debian/copyright
>> of the redeclipse-data package and compare the data with other packages
>> in main.
> 
> He just writes that he thinks a lot is missing.  But what?  Blender
> models?  I fully agree that those are source.  Audacity files or xcf
> files?  I'm fine with accepting wav or png files instead, in most cases.


We are getting closer. debian/copyright of redeclipse-data basically
claims that for all png/jpg files xcf files are required, all models
need blend files and all ogg files "need the original samples". Even
gfpoken would fail this requirement since e.g you don't provide xcf
files for your png images.
Everyone has to decide and investigate for him- or herself if Red
Eclipse is suitable for main or if it should stay in non-free due to
this reasoning. I believe we don't need polls or wiki pages for that.


[...]
>> - What do you consider a practical solution?  
>> - What is source for artwork in your opinion?
[...]
>> - What guidelines would you suggest?

First of all I believe we agree that we need to differentiate between
different forms of artwork. In my opinion raster images are modifiable
and thus source. The same goes for ogg files. I agree that player models
should be accompanied with e.g. blend or md2 files which appears to be
the case here. In any case accepting png or ogg files as source doesn't
mean that we should not strive for vector images or audacity files. Of
course we ship the latter if available but we shouldn't move a game to
non-free if they are absent.

My first draft for guidelines:
==============================

1. Assume good faith

We are dealing here with open source / free software / libre projects.
They aren't always perfect but projects like Red Eclipse, which release
assets under libre licenses and sustain a community acting in the same
spirit, deserve a credit of trust. If the following suggestions don't
help with finding an answer for "what is source", then please take a
look at this point again.

2. Talk with upstream

The best approach to find out about upstream's intentions is to talk to
them.

3. Definition of source for different kinds of digital art

We add an appendix and define for the most common art assets what would
be a reasonable form for modifications. Since it seems we can agree on
raster images as a reasonable form for modifications, I believe we can
find consensus for other assets too. That should cover most games in the
archive already.

Non-exhaustive list of files that may be acceptable:

Raster images (png,jpg,gif,bmp),
Music files (wav, ogg, xm)
Models (blend, md2, md3, obj)

3D Models and everything that gets rendered is a different story.
However I would argue that a rendered image can be the source as well.
It very much depends on the game itself.

4. Talk about your game: special cases should be discussed on
  debian-devel-games

We should find solutions on a case-by-case basis for complex games
and/or rare games with special requirements.

5. When game data should be in non-free

A good reason for moving a game to non-free is when the creators of the
game's artwork refuse to share a higher form and do so deliberately, say
they sell the game with vector images but provide only jpg files both in
the source tarball and in the VCS.


So far for the moment.

Regards,

Markus










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