Breaking some preconceptions
There are regularly questions that ask “How can I sell my game!?” Unfortunately, this topic is varied and complex, so let’s take an objective view over the steps involved in selling your first game :
Distribution
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Steam
Firstly, it is unlikely that one can sell their games on Steam. I have emailed steam works before, and have yet to receive a response unfortunately, so here is my interpretation. Steam is a content distribution platform. It enforces licensing by registering game copies to the account - one may play at a time. This also means that only one liscenced copy can be played at a time, but to check if a copy is valid, they use DRM - to make sure that all copies are from steam, registered to an individuals account across multiple PCs. This means that, having copies floating around with no ties would be unacceptable. Therefore, in order to sell a game, it cannot be GPL. Why? GPL requires that you make your source free by request. It is usually seen as a good thing, for it allows for development and refining of useful software, and a reference for others in that field. However, giving away the source to your game allows users to create mods of your game, custom clients and server hacks - potentially a free copy. Because steam requires DRM, releasing the source is out of the question, and so (therefore) is GPL licensing, which is inherent to BlenderPlayer (see below for more)
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Desura
Desura is another content distribution platform. For indie game developers. You’ll notice it supports GPL content. - A must have! (Unless you’re looking into methods of compressing the blend as in bpplayer. Desura allows us to sell our games, our license determined by us, and so is our price! It relies on the support that the indie family give to ‘their own’. - “Unlike many of its competitors, Desura does not offer any digital rights management services, and Desura employees have commented against its use in the past, recommending that content producers ship without DRM or at least use a CD Key system instead.” What does this mean? Well, essentially Desura support open source software, and GPL licensing, which is handy for us!
Customising Your Game
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Custom Icon
So, you have a distribution platform, but how do you get there? In order to sell a game, you’ll want your own Icon, and your installer. In order to change the Icon, you can use IcoFX to change the icon of an EXE. This is the method i prefer over the method mentioned in the sticky thread; at least it has been successful for me! All you require is an icon to replace the exe with (in a 6464 or 3232 ico / png format) and you can directly apply it to the runtime.
Here is a useful tutorial. You can customise the icon to represent your game, or your concept - make it yours, not another Blender game. -
Creating an Installer
For creating installers, I prefer NSIS. NSIS is a free installer creator. You can use templates, or script your own functions. You can change many aspects of the installer, from layout or the the mechanics behind it. The power is at your hands. NSIS is quite user friendly, and has a large community behind it, as Blender does! So, feel free to investigate further, as I’m sure i’ll end up expanding this section.
Licensing
When you save a Blender game, the files are yours. They are under no licensing agreement until you decide that you wish for one to exist. This is not the issue we face when we try to protect our source. Blender was released under GNU licensing after NaN established the Blender Foundation. What this intended was for the continuity of the official source of Blender, so that it would not become a paid for monopoly, and false credit stealing. This has arguably proven effective; 2.62 releases later (soon!) We’re still a strong community. However, this results in a paradox, or at least in our context. The Game Engine was developed inside the Blender environment, upon the base code. Therefore it has to follow the same license. This includes BlenderPlayer - the standalone program to run our source. When you export an exe, it packages the source and the BlenderPlayer as a single run time. At this point, your source becomes under the GPL license as it has been distributed with BlenderPlayer. What is blenderPlayer? BlenderPlayer is the stripped down version of Blender that allows a user to play the source file.
What does this mean?
When you release a product; game or software, you have two options. The first option is for you to share the source with the general public, Open Source. The other option is Closed Source. So, which one’s which?
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Open source
Open source allows many benefits; you can establish communities to produce mods, adaptations and improve your work. You ensure continuity of the original product (in some form) and lastly, you can see your work in the hands of others. The main issue we have with the Blender open source license (GPL) is that we are limited to non DRM marketing. -
Closed source
Closed source also has its benefits. firstly, it allows you to protect sensitive code, such as sales connection information. You can protect the api for the server - prevent spoofing of data. You also ensure that no-one can steal your assets, ideas or full product! (just look at the people selling Blender!). Of course, this requires protection, but the core still stands
So, how do you protect the source?
To protect the source, there are two solutions.
- You release the source in a compressed encrypted file, and distribute the BlenderPlayer separately
- Encrypt the blend into a non-interpretable entity, and include a decoder at download
Both these options require a separation of source (be it raw code, or the actual files) from the Blender Player.
Have a look at bpplayer for information, or search the forums
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**subject to change