Go open source

[gbee]

As an open source developer for the last few years I'm afraid I have to side with Jens, although I'm a strong believer in open source it's neither an appealing choice for any small business nor necessarily suited for all software. For your average programmer it's pretty much a nightmare, you lose control of your code (for better, or worse) and instead of doing what you love, developing new and innovative games, you are reduced to the dreaded customer support role. Whether it's commercial customers who have paid for that service, or thousands of people who think that open source means that you must incorporate their ideas or code, your time is no longer your own.

It's also hugely debatable whether you'd be able to pull in the same amount of money, it's no secret that what many people like about open source is the price tag. Even if Frictional only open sourced the engine, within months someone will have started putting out good free games which directly compete against Amnesia etc and given the choice even a superior commercial game is going to be dead in the water. Even if Frictional were longer reliant on selling their games, it's both hugely disappointing to create something that nobody wants to play and it represents a loss to the business ...