You're absolutely right - edited. Sorry about that, had a brain-fart. Thanks!

Heylo,

I'm sure you guys have been following Wasteland 2 and it's fan-based funding. But I have a question about the business end of it.

Normally with copyrighted works we see financial priority given to publishers rather than the creators themselves (http://www.openrightsgroup.org/orgc.../presentations). Maybe this is a good thing, maybe the grinding work of publishing is tougher than actually creating the work, maybe not.

BUT - my question is; how will such remuneration play out for Wasteland 2? Where a publisher would usually have funded such a project in the hope of a return on their investment, the fans have instead. I very much doubt that the fans will get a cut similar to that of a publisher... Will they? Will the price of the finished product simply go down substantially, with all profits going straight to the makers?

What I find most interesting is the shift in dynamic of the business model itself, Wasteland 2 seems to have totally shifted the middle man out of the picture, allowing for a simple two platform transaction; the fans want this game to be made, the makers will make it, it's all very Occupy Movement and exciting if you ask me!

Can anyone offer any insight? Sources and opinions would be extra awesome too!

Jim


DISCLAIMER - if the above illustrates a terrible understanding of the relationship between fans/creators/publishers, feel free to be condescending and correct me!

Is there any particular thing I should be looking for with regards to both of us Xboxing at the same time?

Yeah I hope it stays with the PC, it is essentially a family format game, can't imagine using my 360 controller on the sims when I should be killing Nazi's with it.

However, does anyone know if SimCity on the iPhone is worth £5.99?

Well first I'd just get MGS4 and replace all things to do with PS3 with the Xbox logo.

Nah if I made my own 360 game it'd be a shooter set in some unspecified time in the future in a post apocalyptic earth.

The back story would regard a foot soldier working for the biggest faction on the planet as society is re-established. This certain faction is constantly under attack from other smaller factions in the hopes that their backwards methods and principles will be recognised and brought into effect under fear of death. Storywise it'd be full of post 9/11 overtones and would eventually be countered by 'external' undertones, ie religion and space as the origins of the post apacalyptic earth are revealed and unfolded.

Gameplaywise I'd have to take my hat off to the Call of Duty format of shooter, but totally eliminate the "one-man army" engine it sometimes possesses.

Suppose it needs a little more thinking.