Dani's Race 07-07-24 Got Unlocked!
by J.Y.Amihud
As some followers of the development of Dani's Race might already know, the game is being used as a testing ground for a publication idea that in future might enable more Free / Libre projects ( both software and culture ) to finally make some profit.
Without the copyright restrictions of proprietary works, as soon as the work is out there, it is out there. If somebody shares your work without paying you, they have the right to do so. It is in the license. And it is kind of the point.
Some are charging for copies regardless, profiting somewhat from those who do not want to look for a gratis copy. And while this is a working way of making money with Libre works. It is not enough.
Donations are also a viable solution, but in both cases there is no pressure on the buyer to pay anything. And therefor only a few very successful projects can do enough money in this way.
The idea that is being tested is to not publish anything until a specific sum is collected. Of course the work is being made, so information about it could be shared. Such as screenshots or videos showing what it is.
One more complication is that to receive money in most countries one must be registered as a business. And it is not an option right now for the developers of Dani's Race. Therefor an alternative method to test the idea was conceived. Instead of a sum of money, a statistic of some kind should instead be satisfied. For example, before publishing the package, a certain amount of Mastodon Followers should be reached.
Dani's Race version 07-07-24 was shared on a test platform that is automating the whole idea. With a goal being 200 Mastodon Followers on @blenderdumbass@mastodon.online account.
At the start of the goal, the account already had 192 followers. So only 8 new followers were needed for the package to be published. In the first day 3 new followers appeared. Making the whole thing feel promising. Then nobody. One follower even disappeared at some point. But then today, the followers finally appeared and now the account has exactly 200 followers.
The file was successfully automatically uploaded to Archive.org and is now available to download.