Games Should Never Die

Some of my favorite games are simply unplayable and many more are in a state of decay as they become neglected by publishers, developers, and the community.  It is not entirely any single party's fault for the fall of these games but with that same reasoning we can find salvation for many long lost titles and ways of preservation for future games as well.

Much like how copyright protection is executed, I argue that the public should be entitled to remix, modify, and redistribute software that is no longer updated by the developer.

 As an example, this would allow players to legally run private servers, create new maps and weapons, for the modern competitive first person shooter Tribes Ascend which currently has no plans for future updates and is essentially dead.

In reference to the software release cycle, this would be the state after Gold which we will label as "Community Release or CR"

This state between Gold and CR will bring community additions to the game either through an official store or via legal downloadable mods.  If this sounds similar, very likely you are thinking of what Valve has accomplished with not just their games but many thanks to their Steam platform and the Community Workshop.

Every game should be aiming for a state of self evolving balance in its meta, self governing systems for cheating, and community driven expansive content.  A video game should be as self sufficient as possible with all shortcomings being attended to by the developer.  If a video game lacks any one of these states, it is doomed and should be focusing from pre-alpha to beyond release on achieving them.  In the end it is probably impossible to truly attain but the constant pursuit of these states is what gives a video game its longevity.  When the developer can no longer continue its pursuit, then it should hand off the torch to the community that still wants to carry on.

Games like DOTA 2 will probably live on forever and even if the parent game does eventually die, it is entirely possible that modifications will become their own unique IP as was the case with Warcraft and the mod that originated from that, DOTA.  There exists a potential cycle of death and rebirth, modification and remix that could prove profitable for the parent producers and developers as well as for the budding video game designers and others who seek to create art, sounds or entire worlds for their personal growth or maybe enjoyment.

Make a game that is fun, that is fair, and can be enjoyed forever.

While not all studios have the resources to accomplish such things, Valve probably has the most ideal platform to imitate.  With the inclusion of early access and crowd funding options, it might be possible to create a game from pre-alpha to past gold that is heavily community influenced.  I think opening up even small facets of interaction with video games can make a drastic difference in a game's lifespan.

To publishers, developers and to the entire gaming community, games should never die.