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General discussion (archive)Take a game preference survey for a chance to win a free game from GOG! (249 posts)(249 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 02, 2011
The survey's been closed, folks, because Phil got a bazillion entries. Thanks so much for helping forward the frontiers of the knowledge of science!
Note: GOG has agreed to help a fellow GOG user and general all-around smart boffin Filippo Cordaro with a research project he's working on for the University of Cologne in Germany. Below is his letter explaining what's going on.

[url=http://bit.ly/hUtVip" target="blank][/url]This might be a little bit different from what you are used to for typical newsposts here at GOG. My name is Filippo Cordaro, and I’m a researcher at the University of Cologne in Germany. We are currently looking for participants for a study about preferences and habits regarding a few issues in video games. The people at GOG were kind enough to help us recruit participants through the website, and this will hopefully help us gain more insight into how gamers feel about these issues.

The study will ask you a few questions about the types of games you prefer, and additionally may ask you to read about an upcoming game and give some comments about it. You may also be asked about your opinion regarding some current trends in the game industry. The survey should take about 30 minutes to complete, and we guarantee absolute anonymity. Keep in mind that we are a University, not a marketing organization or game publisher, and we won’t share your information with anyone else. In exchange for your participation, taking this survey will enter you in a raffle to win one of 5 free game codes courtesy of GOG. We will ask for your E-mail address so that we can contact the winners, but will not link individual responses with E-mail addresses. If you are interested in taking part, please click [url=http://bit.ly/hUtVip" target="blank]this link[/url] to participate in the survey.

As a final note, I would ask that if you decide to take part, please don’t share the information you see with anyone else. We would not want for anyone’s answers to be influenced by others, and would prefer if people went into the study not knowing exactly what to expect. You might also be exposed to some sensitive information about upcoming releases. If you do have any questions or comments about the study, please feel free to E-mail at Filippo.cordaro@uni-koeln.de. I would be happy to give people more information. Thanks everyone for taking the time to have a look at this!
[[Edited to reflect the fact that the university has closed the contest. Thanks so much, guys. You all rock!]]
Post edited March 03, 2011 by TheEnigmaticT
Posted March 02, 2011
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Nettacki01: That doesn't make the piracy thing any more right, especially when genuinely good and/or popular games end up suffering in the long run.
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Navagon: It doesn't make it any more right, but it does mean that it's not about to become any more right. Hence why it's best to focus on increasing sales rather than crying over what was never to be.
And how would you do that? If there's more DRM, people will blindly boycott it. If there's no DRM, people will still pirate it and likely not pay up anyway.
Posted March 02, 2011
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Adokat: Well if there truly is a form of DRM that is not at all intrusive on the legitimate buyer (or modder), but actually can do something against pirates, I'm all for it.
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granny: Perhaps, but the description given in the survey implies the DRM they've integrated requires an always-on internet connection. Which (unless the game is an mmo of some description) is so far passed unacceptable you cannot even see the sign that says "1000 miles to Unnacceptableville".
I was under the impression that it would be a one-time internet activation up installation, which is reasonable to me. If it's a constant connection, it would be yet another step backwards for DRM. The price would have to be heavily discounted for me to consider a purchase if that was the case. I'm not even sure that such a system is even in the works-the survey may have just made it up to test our opinions.
Posted March 02, 2011
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Adokat: I was under the impression that it would be a one-time internet activation up installation, which is reasonable to me.
Yeah, I can just about live with that myself, but the way the DRM description was worded, something like: "The DRM is integrated into the code... It pings our servers at lots of different points..." or words to that effect. That implies either an MMO, or an always on internet connection.

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Adokat: the survey may have just made it up to test our opinions.
Could be. Can't say as I was that impressed with a lot of the questions, to be fair, as they spectacularly fail to take into account things like context.
Posted March 02, 2011
Hi everybody!

This is Phil Cordaro here, the guy who designed the study. I had no idea this would have a forum post attached to it and generate such a response. First off, I want to thank everybody for their participation and interest, because we've been getting waaaaay more people than expected. I have been trying to respond to E mails about this, but I have been getting more than I can keep up with. If you sent me one and I missed it, I apologize! Feel free to get back in touch with me if there's still something you'd like to know.

As far as the content of the survey, I'm really sorry, but I can't quite reveal what we were hoping to get at here, because I wouldn't want people to know in advance going into the study. However, once we stop collecting data, I'll make another post (and see if perhaps I can get another news post published) explaining this experiment in a bit more detail, and hopefully that will satisfy people's curiosity. For now, I'm sorry that's all I can offer, but hopefully a more thorough explanation later on will make sense.

I'd also like to say that I very much appreciate the input and suggestions everyone has been sending me. A lot of this stuff is very useful and we'll definitely keep it in mind for future studies, but like I said, I really can't get into too much detail about this sort of stuff for the time being because I wouldn't want to contaminate the results.
Posted March 02, 2011
I just want to add one more thing.

Reading about this reminds me of when I read about Fable originally. It all sounded really neat about how each thing you do would shape your character, etc.. etc.. bla bla bla. But ultimately you end up with one of two characters.
A. Old bald guy with scars and a halo.
B. Old evil guy with scars and horns.

It was disappointing, to say the least. So when I read anything now about how this next game is going to be amazing because your character is so different or there are random levels or whatever.. I don't care because they either don't deliver or their scope is so big that they use bland parts to make random characters/levels.

Spore is another good example. The first of the game was a lot of fun, but then you get past the primordial soup phase. lol
Posted March 02, 2011
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Nettacki01: In a world where piracy is so rampant thanks to the Internet, I think they'll end up using DRM anyway. Besides, where's the proof that the established DRM systems like SecuROM and StarForce do anything remotely harmful? I mean actual evidence, not random hearsay or false positives from malware detectors.
DRM serves two main purposes and neither of those are piracy prevention.

As for proof that Starforce is harmful I can only assume you're joking. It's one of the most potent and destructive viruses out there.

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Nettacki01: And how would you do that? If there's more DRM, people will blindly boycott it. If there's no DRM, people will still pirate it and likely not pay up anyway.
EA was heading in the right direction when they offered additional content to those who registered their games. But that was very short lived and EA seem to now be using TAGES of all things. CDP also seem keen to offer a lot of extras with legal copies. Things like that boost the value of legally buying games as opposed to the shitty two page manual you usually get.
Post edited March 02, 2011 by Navagon
Posted March 02, 2011
I also participated with responses as honest as possible.

Filling the form I realised I changed a lot during last few years... Funny, but interesting!


PaladinHeart: Hey, I also felt like reading some kind of Fable sequel!
Post edited March 02, 2011 by kurcatovium
Posted March 02, 2011
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Nettacki01: In a world where piracy is so rampant thanks to the Internet, I think they'll end up using DRM anyway. Besides, where's the proof that the established DRM systems like SecuROM and StarForce do anything remotely harmful? I mean actual evidence, not random hearsay or false positives from malware detectors.
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Navagon: DRM serves two main purposes and neither of those are piracy prevention.

As for proof that Starforce is harmful I can only assume you're joking. It's one of the most potent and destructive viruses out there.
Ok, maybe I should have used the term "Copy Protection" instead?

According to this article:

http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_9.html

That's not necessarily the case. True, there are some legitimate complaints about certain issues with the software, but none that really deserve its reputation as a supposed "potent and destructive virus".
Posted March 02, 2011

Companies should focus on making customers rather than tightening their grip - and seeing more customers slip through their grasp.
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Nettacki01: In a world where piracy is so rampant thanks to the Internet, I think they'll end up using DRM anyway. Besides, where's the proof that the established DRM systems like SecuROM and StarForce do anything remotely harmful? I mean actual evidence, not random hearsay or false positives from malware detectors.
I haven't bought games I otherwise would have because I refuse to ask permission to play my game and I don't want my game to die when the company dies. Does that count as harmful?

Are you shitting me you don't think SecuROM hasn't screwed up? Auth servers have gone down on more than one release day. How's that for a punch in the balls to the people who bought your game at max price?
Posted March 02, 2011
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Navagon: [

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Nettacki01: And how would you do that? If there's more DRM, people will blindly boycott it. If there's no DRM, people will still pirate it and likely not pay up anyway.
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Navagon: EA was heading in the right direction when they offered additional content to those who registered their games. But that was very short lived and EA seem to now be using TAGES of all things. CDP also seem keen to offer a lot of extras with legal copies. Things like that boost the value of legally buying games as opposed to the shitty two page manual you usually get.
Ok, I can get behind the offering of bonus content in legal copies. Now if only that bonus content was more like CDP's stuff: valuable, interesting to own, and actually worth a damn.
Posted March 02, 2011
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Navagon: It doesn't make it any more right, but it does mean that it's not about to become any more right. Hence why it's best to focus on increasing sales rather than crying over what was never to be.
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Nettacki01: And how would you do that? If there's more DRM, people will blindly boycott it. If there's no DRM, people will still pirate it and likely not pay up anyway.
Some people, not all people. I think the Humble Indie Bundle and sequel prove that. Oh yeah, GOG proves that. Even Stardock used to prove that.
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Philskium: Hi everybody!

This is Phil Cordaro here, the guy who designed the study. I had no idea this would have a forum post attached to it and generate such a response. First off, I want to thank everybody for their participation and interest, because we've been getting waaaaay more people than expected. I have been trying to respond to E mails about this, but I have been getting more than I can keep up with. If you sent me one and I missed it, I apologize! Feel free to get back in touch with me if there's still something you'd like to know.

As far as the content of the survey, I'm really sorry, but I can't quite reveal what we were hoping to get at here, because I wouldn't want people to know in advance going into the study. However, once we stop collecting data, I'll make another post (and see if perhaps I can get another news post published) explaining this experiment in a bit more detail, and hopefully that will satisfy people's curiosity. For now, I'm sorry that's all I can offer, but hopefully a more thorough explanation later on will make sense.

I'd also like to say that I very much appreciate the input and suggestions everyone has been sending me. A lot of this stuff is very useful and we'll definitely keep it in mind for future studies, but like I said, I really can't get into too much detail about this sort of stuff for the time being because I wouldn't want to contaminate the results.
Though I wasn't a big fan of the study, I appreciate your candor and look forward to your explanation. Don't let the bitching turn you off, a lot of us are really good at it here.
Post edited March 02, 2011 by orcishgamer
Posted March 02, 2011
guys: Harmful or not, buying the game with offensive DRM makes me feel like I'm the bad guy. Why are we, paying customers, punished by this shitty crapware whatever and pirates are happy with shiny new crack provided by some lolzar cracking group?
Posted March 02, 2011
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Nettacki01: In a world where piracy is so rampant thanks to the Internet, I think they'll end up using DRM anyway. Besides, where's the proof that the established DRM systems like SecuROM and StarForce do anything remotely harmful? I mean actual evidence, not random hearsay or false positives from malware detectors.
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orcishgamer: I haven't bought games I otherwise would have because I refuse to ask permission to play my game and I don't want my game to die when the company dies. Does that count as harmful?

Are you shitting me you don't think SecuROM hasn't screwed up? Auth servers have gone down on more than one release day. How's that for a punch in the balls to the people who bought your game at max price?
Hey now, I never said they didn't screw up. I simply think that the backlash they received was a bit out of proportion. In fact, I don't like how it potentially interferes with my enjoyment of the game. Heck, that's a legit complaint.

What's not legitimate is saying something along the lines of "DRM is always wrong, we should do whatever we want since we own it." Technically, we don't own the game, the IP holders do. They're the ones who spent millions of dollars making the game. Paying a certain amount to get a copy of it doesn't really make us owners. I think Stardock said it best:

" There has to be some middle ground on serving customers and protecting IP holders. Users who disagree and want to stick with this principle have my respect but we believe a balance needs to be made that is satisfactory to most users and most publishers. "
Posted March 02, 2011
This is quite interesting.

I can't figure out if this is one of their elaborate jokes again, but it seems unlikely that someone researching DRM would use test subjects from a community with a heavy anti-DRM leaning. You can't get more biased than that, and if this is genuine research the bias would be blatantly obvious, because of the test groups background.

So I assume this is a GOG / CD Projekt marketing ploy.

I just hope this is not a real DRM mechanism. It would be one of the worst I have ever seen. Pirate witchhunts? A system based on fear? Developer vigilantes hunting down pirates? I am speechless.
Post edited March 02, 2011 by Teilnehmer
Posted March 02, 2011
Yeah, this survey was pretty badly phrased and didn't seem unbiased at all and I'm pretty sure my responses look completely sporadic because of it. I hope every game is pirated, because it's the main means for us to keep old games playable after the developers stop supporting it. GOG is a damn rare exception and hardly covers the majority of games, we need a better form of archival for future generations.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Take a game preference survey for a chance to win a free game from GOG! (249 posts)(249 posts)
(249 posts)