Making Commercial Games

[Alex Khan]

Hello Everyone,

I have this nagging question.

With a Basic compiler like Basi and other C compilers like Stefanies and Assemblers available on the web.

Is it possible to make commercial games for sale and distribution using these compilers for that matter?

Is it legal to do that ?

How does the GPL come into play here?

Does the person who owns the compiler have a claim to a commercial game made with his or her compiler?

Awaiitng your reply

[TmEE co.(TM)]

As long as you don't use any copyrighted materials in your work there should not be any problems. I doubt there's (m)any compilers/assemblers around that have a line in their license that it must not be used in the creation of any commercial products.

[ElBarto]

The GPL2 licence does not take effect on the output of a program, this means that any code compiled by gcc isn't GPL.
I don't know about BEX but I doubt that the output is protected by any licence.

If you use some code made by someone else it depends on the licence of the code itself.
But even if it's GPL you can sell your product as long as you provide the source code too (cause the source code will be GPL'ed).

[Graz]

Many GPL'd libraries (such as newlib and libgcc) include explicit clauses in their copies of the GPL that permit distribution of code linked against them in binary form for any purpose. The GCC docs even says explicitly that code compiled with GCC (the output of the compiler) is not automatically GPL and may be distributed without restriction. Read the licenses carefully, but you should be fine.

[Alex Khan]

Thank you so much Gentleman all your posts were really helpful.

I have a better understanding of the legalities of game distribution thanks to all of you

Cheers!

[Chilly Willy]

In general LGPL libraries allow you to static link them to a closed source app, while GPL libraries don't. Most of the libs you'll see are LGPL, but keep the distinction in mind.

Even if you use GPL libs, that doesn't mean you can't sell your program. Also, as long as the data files aren't embedded in the program, they won't be GPL either (think of Doom - the executable is GPL, but the WAD files are not). Simple aggregation doesn't not force you to make files GPL - in other words, if you had both the executable and the data file(s) in the same rom (included the data file(s) using something like romfs), it still wouldn't be GPL even if the program were.

However, if you don't want your program to be GPL, use LGPL, BSD, MIT, or similar licensed libraries.

[Alex Khan]

After reading all this info i thought do they explain software laws in computer science courses at university ?

There is definitely alot to absorb.

Chilly I see so your saying there is a middling ground with LGPL ?

Here is the big question ...

If I am using LGPL do state somewhere in the game code ... documentation ... credit screen that it is LGPL what is the procedure ?

The A B C to safeguarding your code/program ?

I have understood the law but implementation of the LGPL in my code/program is there some kind of guide to that ?

Is there a patenting registration process ?

I really have zero knowledge on this issue.

Awaiting your reply.

[Chilly Willy]

This is the wrong place to be asking most of those questions. You should probably ask someplace that specializes in that. We're just regular programmers here.

Here's a decent response to a question very much like yours.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threa ... 39136.html

[Alex Khan]

Thank you Chilly that was very helpful.



The Legal terminology is positively mind boggling but it's a start!

[Chilly Willy]

Yes, it can be a bit intimidating.

All my open coding is 100% open, and all my commercial/closed coding is 100% my own code. That avoids the problem altogether, so I haven't had to look into this in quite the detail you wanted, so I dug up the link.

[Alex Khan]

Your gifted in the coding capacity Chilly your lucky to have a good mind for it.

Average coders like "Moi" have to scrape code from the bottom of the barrel.

And then pussyfoot around the legal hassles.

[Chilly Willy]

Computer programming was always an easy subject for me. In my Jr High computer class (on a TRS-80) while everyone else was trying to make a "hello world" program from BASIC, I was doing assembly user subroutines that played PacMan in ASCII in the same BASIC program.

I took computer related classes in college when I needed to raise my GPA. That allowed me to take other classes I liked but wasn't as good at without worrying about losing my scholarship. As I've gotten older, I'm not quite as quick on the ball, but I hear that certain activities help keep the brain "exercised" as you get older to help prevent a lot of the degradation you see in some old folk.

So I get a little more "terse" with people sometimes (Get off my lawn you damn kids!), but I keep at the homebrew to help exercise the mind hoping it prevent real trouble in the coming decades.

[Alex Khan]

Chilly

I see you do it as sort of mental gymnastics.

How long have you been making Homebrew games for Chilly. And have you released any of your games to the public?

[Chilly Willy]

Most of my homebrew tends to be ports, and helping on ports. Things like Doom, Duke3D, Wolf3D, RotT, Basilisk II, DX64, etc. Some of the porting is on lower-level libraries, like SDL (fixed the "slow" rate conversion on the PSP and added TV support), or openal (did the PSP port of that).

[Alex Khan]

I'm not very technical.

Am I correct when I say:

You port games over to the PSP ? Such as Doom.

That is Fantastic !

Have I understood you correctly ?