Re: New Apple II SuperSite Online

[Greg Buchner <nobody@wavetech.net>]

In article <39fab05a_4@news3.prserv.net>, "Tom Zuchowski" 
<tzuchow@attglobal.net> wrote:

> "Greg Buchner" <nobody@wavetech.net> wrote in message
> nobody-FDF744.09414022102000@news.wavetech.net">news:nobody-FDF744.09414022102000@news.wavetech.net...
> > In article <39f2e5df_4@news3.prserv.net>, "Tom Zuchowski"
> > <tzuchow@attglobal.net> wrote:
> >
> > > That seems like a totally ridiculous statement to me. I think I could 
> > > do
> > > that very easily. Or maybe I am just dense. Would you please 
> > > enlighten me as
> > > to some of the possible ways an author could be damaged from the 
> > > sharing of his 20-year-old DOS 3.2 game title?
> >
> > Maybe he's coming out with a new modern game based on the same story.
> > Maybe some fan of the game is also coming out with the same type of
> > game and beats the original author to the punch.  Original author sues
> > saying he owns the copyright.  The fan responds that the game has been
> > out available on the net for years so it must have been free.  Both
> > authors spend way too much money on lawyers, both authors decide that
> > the game isn't worth it, both authors abandon any continuation of the
> > program, everybody looses...except the lawyers.
> 
> Greg, I think that your example of possible offense is a bit far-fetched,
> but I'll grant it for the sake of argument.
> 
> That leaves my original question: how many instances of this has ever
> occurred? I really, really want the names of the titles and authors that 
> fit this scenario so that I can respect their wishes. But I am aware of
> none.

That's not what you asked.  You asked for some of the possible ways...and
I thought about it for a couple of minutes and came up with one.  It's
not realistic but in this world, it's entirely possible.  Just not
likely I'd admit.  But you did ask.

> And having said that, I wonder if you have ever actually played any Apple 
> II
> games from the DOS 3.2/3.3 era. They are so dramatically cruder than
> anything that has been done in the past ten years that I can't imagine
> anyone thinking that a modern game with the same title is in any way 
> linked to the old title. Apart from the title itself, of course.

Yes, bought a few of them...I started with a //e in Feb, '84 and that's
pretty much what was out there.  The one that mostly comes to mind at
the moment is Lode Runner.  I have Lode Runner 2 on my Mac and the
original Lode Runner sitting around somewhere.  Aside from being 3d 
and 2d respectively, they are pretty much the same.  Another one is
Reach for the Stars.  I don't know how the new version that supposedly
just came out compares to the original, but I would imagine that there's
a lot of the same ideas from the original version that made it into 
the most recent one.

Greg B.
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