Nah, probably something like CD-key. ;)

Generally they work like CD keys. You enter the key during install and that's it. There aren't any perpetual checks or "you must be online" aspect that I've run into yet. The only one I've bought so far that uses One Time Key Validation is SpaceChem, which does appear to connect to the internet to pull new announcements and to possibly post your score to a high score table under certain circumstances. They are not Steam keys however, though a few games do come with those as part of your purchase (as an extra, not as the only option). SpaceChem is one of those titles as well.

I see. So if I got PainKiller, it would be like a DRM-Free download with a CD key... Like when I install Homeworld from disc?

This might be worth it, but I already have games spread on Gog, Desura, Gamersgate, GMG, humblebundle, groupees. Do I really want to add another site to the list?

As a suggestion, Use a spreadsheet to list all your games, then in the second cell, put a link to the website hosting said game. Then you don't have to worry.

That's what I do. I mean, I, too, have games on Steam, Desura, GOG, GMG, Humble Bundle, Bundle Stars, and Groupees... at least, but as long as I keep them all on one central list, I don't mind. Whoever has the deal, right?

Not a bad idea actually, but I already have lots of games, so I have to start soon :D. Else the task might become too great.

Yeah, for me, the biggest task is getting all my Steam games on it, I now have over 300 there, and over 80 here. Add in the 40 plus games I have from Humble Bundle, then all the others and it really seems overwhelming, but it's not that bad once you get it into the spreadsheet. The other cool thing you can do is, if you know how to use Excel or Access, you can set a shortcut to launch the game from within the spreadsheet. That makes it basically a launcher for all your games and apps. Sure it might not look as fancy as steam, but it works flawlessly on my machine. In fact, I am going to make my own launcher in VB soon. If it ever comes to completion, I will share it here.

Well, I have no MS products installed, so I'll probably use google spreadsheet (because that's always reachable and online :D). I wonder how to solve the problem of redundancy. Maybe a second and third column if I have a game on some other platform too.. or maybe a column for each platform and an X for each game that I have on that platform. :) And I need time :D

Maybe something like this for column names?
Game name | Steam | Desura | GMG | Humble Bundle | GOG | etc

Exactly my thought!

That's what mine is. Only in mine, the link in each column is a link to the executable, so I can launch it directly.

I couldn't do that anyway since I keep around 5-6 games maximum at one time. Because I use my laptop for gaming :)

Should be, aye.

Hmm, I just download everything and keep backups, but that's a valid point. If I ever needed to go back and find all my games, I'd have to hit all the sites I've bought from. On the plus side, virtually all of them have a kind of "shelf" system, so it wouldn't be too bad after that point. But if I needed to know right away where I got a specific title from, yah, I'd have to hunt. :)

I see... well, I made this to help you get started, if you want. :)
I am going to be sharing it in a new topic as well.

Got it, thanks. :)

Thanks but I've already made one, and got the list of games from steamgifts. From gog is simple copy paste. So not so hard after all.