Comments on: Make Your Game Run on Any Platform

By: Amit

Amit — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:55:21 +0000

I am evaluating Blender for game development. I just happen to read about the queries posted above regarding GPL. Can anybody please elaborate more on GPL?

By: Nokes

Nokes — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:12:20 +0000

now, how about exporting to PS2, or XBox?

By: Prot

Prot — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:47:32 +0000

Adrien Lourdelle
Well, the command blender.quit() is really not a joike. I just try and it is work. But I am wonder, can it be passed somehow?

By: Adrien Lourdelle

Adrien Lourdelle — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:50:19 +0000

Well, it's interesting if you don't have all plateform to compile your game.
And the fact that the compiled file is not your game don't change anything :
your game pass from a .blend to a .gam. so it's like a GPL.. your file is totaly editable!

I don"t understand the fact that your game is not under GPL license with your system ? O_o
there actually no solution to protect/Crypt your blend file. the command blender.quit() is a joike …

By: surfan almak

surfan almak — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 13:57:41 +0000

this is the best

By: raaj

raaj — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 07:29:36 +0000

i want the softwere

By: epat

epat — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 14:28:54 +0000

what's all the confusion for? – Basicly, any blend file that you create in blender is automaticly licenced under the BAL (Blender Artistic License) which just means that you get the copyright for the .blend that you produce and AFAIK the content of the .blend aswell (you can read about the BAL at http://www.blender.org somewhere I think) – however, this is fine for ordinary files, but to play a game contained in a .blend file you have to have blender itself installed and running on your system. As you have probably gathered, this isn't much good if you want to distribute your games since it means that you have to distribute a whole copy of blender with each one to make them playable. Luckily, the programmers of blender thought of this and they included an option to save a game as a runtime (in the file menu), unfortunately, this means that your games will only run on the platform they were compiled for – unless you run all the different platforms you want them to be available for yourself; but this isn't the only problem, because, what really happens when you compile a game in blender is that blender just takes your blend file and appends it onto the end of an executable (the blenderplayer file that can be found in the same folder as blender itself). This executable is compiled separately from blender; but, like blender, it is released under the GPL (General Public License) and the source code is freely available. The problem with this is that according to the GPL, anything that includes a GPL'd executable in an archive with itself or is combined with it must also be GPL'd aswell, which means that if you compile your game with blender's default method – which combines it with the blenderplayer executable, your game must be GPL'd too. What this script does is separate the blenderplayer part from the .blend file that would normally be appended on to it so that you can retain the copyright for your game's content without having to GPL it, meaning that you only have to GPL the blenderplayer bit; and also, you don't have to provide a complete copy of blender with your game in order for it to run (it also makes it possible to compile games for other platforms without having them on your PC aswell). Of course, if you are intending to release your game under the GPL anyway, it won't come in so handy… -epat. ;)

By: Mantar

Mantar — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 19:58:51 +0000

Well, I don't know Macs very well, but under Windows, the trouble is that it's all shipped together as a single unit (the .exe file) which for all legal intents and purposes is like sending your friends your latest annoying powerpoint slideshow on a cd along with a whole copy of Microsoft Office. The GPL makes exceptions that allow you to redistribute copyrighted software under it as long as you follow the (fairly small) requirements. One of those is that you must keep object code covered under the GPL separate from non-GPL stuff.

If the application folder is compressed as a single object, it /may/ cross the line to being a 'derivative work', and thus in violation of the GPL, but I think you're probably in the clear. If you're really in doubt and need to know, you could always just email the Free Software Foundation, and they'll sort it out for you. They are the experts on the subject.

By: daredemo

daredemo — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 18:16:57 +0000

I still don't fully understand what is "blender executable" especially on Mac platform. When you save the run time, it makes an application. However, on Mac applications are special folders that contain lots of files including icons, help files, etc, etc. there is only one "executable" file in there, as I understand for blender games in the /contents/MacOS/ folder. The rest are not executable, right? There is a .blend file in another folder in there. but it's just a .blend file, nothing more nothing less, and blend files are not executables. So, is it GPL or not?

I understand that only the contents/MacOS folder is covered with GPL. but maybe I'm wrong. Can anyone make sense of this legalese

By: TroutMask

TroutMask — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 02:21:04 +0000

so, does having the game data in a separate .blend destroy the inherit copy protection (with regard to game content, not dissemination of the game itself) that a .exe afforded?

couldn't someone just open the .blend that comes with the game to steal the assets?

i do not and have never made games, so this is purely curiosity.