world-of-goo posts

We've been covering the whole digital rights management debate for PC games almost since Big Download launched a year ago. This week Gamasutra takes on the issue with a feature article that shows that perhaps some big publisher are starting to relax their stances on putting DRM set-ups in their PC game releases.

The story looks back to September 2008 when Electronic Arts released Spore with a particularly restrictive online activation system that used SecuROM. It didn't stop the game from becoming the most pirated PC title in 2008 and many believe the DRM set-up was part of the reason. The Entertainment Software Association's VP Ric Hirsch still believes DRM is needed for PC games, saying, "There is little doubt that piracy would be far more widespread without game publishers' use of DRM."

Others believe completely the opposite such as 2D Boy's Ron Carmel who co-created the hit downloadable puzzle game World of Goo with no DRM at all. He states, "Publishers aren't stupid. They know that DRM doesn't work against piracy. What they're trying to do is stop people from going to GameStop to buy $50 games for $35, none of which goes into the publishers' pockets. If DRM permits only a few installs, that minimizes the number of times a game can be resold." Even though World of Goo is in fact heavily pirated, Carmel states, "People who pirate the game are people who wouldn't have bought it anyway." Perhaps that's why EA has decided to to away with Spore-style DRM set-ups for both The Sims 3 and Dragon Age: Origins. Ubisoft also released the PC version of Prince of Persia with no DRM at all.

Most independent game developers would love to have a hit game like 2D Boy's puzzle title World of Goo. So with one half of 2D Boy speaks, people listen. That's what happened this week at the Game Developers Conference where the game's co-creator Ron Carmel spoke about their opinions on various subjects.

One such them was DRM set-ups in games. Publishers want to keep their games from being pirates but consumers just want easy access to their games. Carmel says the solution is simple: "Don't bother with DRM--it's a waste of time. You just end up giving the DRM provider money." Carmel also says independent game developers shouldn't bother with retail publishers for their titles, saying, "Go with digital distribution--you won't need a publisher for this. Self-fund your game--and when you get to retail, go for per-country flat-fee deals."

We thought Valve was done with its weekend Steam sales deals this week with its Oddworld game discounts. Nope. Not a chance. Valve has decided to put every indie game in its library on sale this weekend as well, giving some not-so-well-known titles some needed attention.

While some of the games have just a 10 percent discount this weekend, others have larger price cuts. For example all of Meridian4's indie games have a 20 percent discount this weekend. Some titles are priced as low as 33 percent off its regular Steam price this weekend. Among those titles are World of Goo, Defense Grid: The Awakening and Audiosurf. So if you are ready to try out something that's outside the game norm, this might be a good time to do so.

Valve has already put Unreal Tournament III on sale until March 15 and let folks play the full game for free this weekend. However their regular Steam weekend update is still in play and today they have put 2D Boy's terrific puzzle title World of Goo on sale for just $4.99. That's 66 percent off its normal price of $14.99 on Steam.

That's not all the Steam news today. The official Criterion Games web site has posted up word that their racing game Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box will soon appear on Steam. The racing game was released in full by publisher EA last month in a trial version. You can download the full trial game right here at Big Download.

2D Boy, developers of the physics puzzle game World of Goo, has released a demo of the game for Linux. Additionally, there's also a patch that updates the Windows release to version 1.3, which fixes bugs and improves stability. Lastly, there's an updated Mac demo available for download.

Download World of Goo Linux Demo (31 MB)
Download World of Goo v1.3 Patch [Windows] (10 MB)
Download World of Goo v1.2 Mac Demo (31 MB)
Check out all World of Goo downloads

Valve's zombie co-op themed shooter Left 4 Dead continues to bring in the awards. Last night at the DICE Summit it was named as the Best Computer Game of 2008 during the 12th annual Interactive Achievement Awards. The game also won for Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play.

Some of the other PC games that won their categories this year include Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Strategy/Simulation Game of of the Year), World of Goo (Outstanding Achievement in Game Design), Fallout 3 (Role-Playing Game of the Year) and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year). You can check out the press release for the full list of winners.

Several days ago we reported that family-oriented PC game publisher Brighter Minds had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had become known as the retail publisher for World of Goo, the acclaimed puzzle game from developer 2D Boy. Indeed, the retail version of the game was selling well enough that it made a brief appearance on NPD Group's top 10 best selling PC games list a couple of weeks ago.

The Escapist is now reporting that a spokesperson for Brighter Minds has now commented on their recent business issues, saying, "This was a voluntary bankruptcy," and adding, "...this allows us to reorganize and become a much healthier company." Unlike other recent moves by companies to go into bankruptcy, Brighter Minds does not intend to lay off any of its employees, with the rep saying, "We do not foresee this move having any effect on our business whatsoever."

Earlier this week, we reported that World of Goo made the top 10 best selling PC games list for US retail stores for the week ending January 17. We mentioned at the time that the retail version of 2D Boy's acclaimed puzzle game is being published by Brighter Minds. Well, it appears not even the high sales of World of Goo is keeping Brighter Minds for filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

According to our sister site GameDaily Biz, the publisher filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 28 which means it can stay in business while it reorganizes. Little else is known about what's going on at the company and how it will affect its deal with 2D Boy for retail distribution of World of Goo.

We know that the team at 2D Boy has had success with the downloadable version of their acclaimed puzzle game World of Goo. Now it appears that the game is reaching out to retail stores as well. The NPD Group's latest list of the top 10 best selling PC games in the US has the title show up at the number 10 spot for the week that ended Jan 17.

World of Goo, which is being published in retail stores by Brighter Minds, replaces Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 on the list compared to the previous week. Otherwise there's little that has changed from the last list aside from a jump for Fallout 3 from 9th to 3rd place.

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - Blizzard
2.The Sims 2 Double Deluxe - Electronic Arts
3. Fallout 3 - Bethesda Softworks
4.World of Warcraft Battle Chest - Blizzard
5. Spore - Electronic Arts
6. Left 4 Dead - Valve/EA
7. The Sims 2 Apartment Life - Electronic Arts
8. World of Warcraft - Blizzard
9. Call Of Duty: World At War - Activision
10. World of Goo - 2D Boy/Brighter Minds

It's always good to know that even the head of one of the industry's biggest game franchises can be a fan of a small independent title. In this case the big exec is Peter Moore, the current head of EA Sports. And the game is World of Goo, the acclaimed downloadable puzzle title from 2D Boy.

Of course the game was made by former Electronic Arts team members and Moore states, "There's a lot to learn from the EA alumni who started 2D Boy and built something as creative and unique as World of Goo, with such a small team and little money." Moore believes that EA Sports can learn something from the innovation that World of Goo brought to games and EA Sports is planning to offer a number of small downloadable games for consoles. And what about the PC which EA Sports almost abandoned in 2008? Moore states, " I also know many of you await our plans on PC this year, and I think there are learnings here as well, beyond just downloads for console gamers, for going online to deliver compelling experiences to the PC community as well."