Re: [GNU-linux-libre] Adding some scummvm game(s) to the "List of software that does not respect the Free System Distribution Guidelines"

[Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli]

On Mon, 12 Jun 2023 22:49:43 -0400
bill-auger <bill-auger@peers.community> wrote:

> if there is any segment of computing with a penchant for bleeding-edge
> technology, it is gamers - people who write new retro games are going
> for the retro _style_, game-play mechanics, beeps and honks, etc; but
> most are not enthusiastic about building them with antique tools, nor
> supporting obsolete platforms such as DOS or monochrome EGA graphics

This is also subjective as good graphics is not always the most
important criteria. For some people Good game mechanics can compensate
a lot for not having very up to date graphics.

We have some really interesting games (Widelands that seems to have
some logistics inside, GNU robots, etc) but they seems to be less well
promoted than the one with the best graphics and less interesting game
mechanics.

A good example that is on topic here would be "Diamond Trust of
London"[1][2], as it could be useful to be packaged assuming it doesn't
have any nonfree dependency. It requires a Nintendo DS emulator to run.

Then there would be the subjectivity of understanding if the game is
good enough to ship a Nintendo DS emulator in a distribution but that
would be up to the distribution to decide, and it might be possible to
hide a bit the emulator by launching the the game automatically and not
have the user load the game manually.

References:
-----------
[1]http://sourceforge.net/p/hcsoftware/DiamondTrust/ci/default/tree/
[2]https://web.archive.org/web/20190215141626/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1443658586/diamond-trust-of-london/posts/471213
   I used archive.org as we don't need JavaScript anymore to see the
   page content.

Denis.

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