Thing is, Quake has similar GPL-released source code to play around with, but you can bet that no one would get a 100% rip-off Quake app approved on the App Store. ICoder has no legal grounds to support their claim that it is OK for them to commercially release the same game under the same title with the same assets, so there is no gray area here. Not only that, but iCoder actually raised the price from $0.99 to $1.99 today. Selling what is basically a pirated copy on Apple’s official App Store - which is supposedly intended to open up the Mac to things like Lugaru - and getting it approved by Apple is another thing altogether. Look, selling a pirated copy of an original game on a city street corner or in a developing nation is one thing. Wolfire has allowed the data to be freely redistributed for non commercial purposes, but it is forbidden to use in any revenue generating works. Which they can’t, as Wolfire clearly and unambiguously stated upon the release of the source code: “Please note that the game data is not under the GPL, and forbids commercial redistribution.”įurthermore, if you actually take the effort to read the GPL documents before you rip it off, you can’t miss this part:Īll game assets and demo data (should all be in “Data” folder in the root of the source tree) are not under the same license as the engine code. That’s even one step beyond ripping a Flash game to republish yourself, because it’s not only simple theft but also a kick in the nuts to Wolfire, who believe that releasing one’s source code is something to be encouraged (and do remember they organized the awesome Humble Indie Bundle for all of us).Īfter being contacted by another gaming blog, iCoder developer Alex Matlin played off the issue because according to him, the GPL license allows iCoder to just repackage the whole thing to sell it for their own profit. “Developer” iCoder has taken the GPL-released source code from Wolfire’s Lugaru, originally meant for fans to create and have fun with, and packaged the whole thing to put on the iTunes App Store as their own game. Most recently, The Blocks Cometh fell pray to one of the worst straight rip-offs in gaming history - thankfully fixed by Apple eventually after an Internet outrage. We’ve seen some despicable rip-offs appear on iTunes in the past months.
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