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Spec Ops: The Line has been removed from all digital storefronts, due to licensing issues. Why was this game so important? Let’s understand the context surrounding its release.
GMTK Minis are short, scrappy videos designed to let me comment on noteworthy news events. Enjoy!
=== Sources and Resources ===
- Sources
[1] Spec Ops: The Line delisted from Steam | Eurogamer
https://www.eurogamer.net/spec-ops-the-line-delisted-from-steam
[2] We Are Not Heroes: Contextualizing Violence... | GDC Vault
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1017980/We-Are-Not-Heroes-Contextualizing
[3] Don't Be A Hero - The Full Story Behind Spec Ops: The Line | Polygon
https://www.polygon.com/2012/11/14/3590430/dont-be-a-hero-the-full-story-behind-spec-ops-the-line
[4] Shooters: How Video Games Fund Arms Manufacturers | Eurogamer
https://www.eurogamer.net/shooters-how-video-games-fund-arms-manufacturers
[5] Playing War: Military Video Games After 9/11 | Matthew Thomas Payne
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt18j8z64
[6] Game Designer Dave Theurer on "Missle Command" | YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd6uaDQ-qRI
[7] Hideo Kojima | Twitter
https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/1492797335256334336
[8] Spec Ops: The Line‘s lead writer on creating an un-heroic war story | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/spec-ops-the-lines-lead-writer-on-creating-an-un-heroic-war-story/
[9] Spec Ops: The Line - Learn about the story with lead writer Walt Williams | Games Radar
https://www.gamesradar.com/spec-ops-line-learn-about-story-lead-writer-walt-williams/
[10] Dissecting the Horror: The Mysteries of Spec Ops The Line | 1UP (Archived)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160606040421/http://www.1up.com/features/horror-mysteries-spec-ops-the-line
[11] Special Edition Spoilercast: Spec Ops: The Line | GameSpot
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamespot-gameplay-special-edition-spoilercast-spec-ops-the-line/1100-6386587/
[12] The touch that transcends violence and death | Chicago Tribune (Archived)
https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-it-is-impossible-to-mak/25124667/?locale=en-GB
[13] 87% Missing: The Disappearance Of Classic Video Games | Video Game History Foundation
https://gamehistory.org/87percent/
- Additional resources
Spec Ops The Line... 5 Years Later | Raycevick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dzstxE_5Rc
Spec Ops: The Line - A Literary Analysis | Games As Literature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ1Zp3gNcEI
Errant Signal - Spec Ops: The Line | Errant Signal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlBrenhzMZI
How Spec Ops: The Line's Opening Manipulates You | Monty Zander
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPm7tKvILrE
Having Fun is Wrong: An Analysis of Spec Ops: The Line | Professor Bopper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogg4ITOmYiw
=== Credits ===
Music provided by Epidemic Sound - https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/vtdu5y (Referral Link)
=== Subtitles ===
Contribute translated subtitles - https://amara.org/videos/zq3te4KZz6ym/
Disappointed that gmtk doesn’t address the fact that this wouldn’t really be an issue with physical media because it can be re-sold and kept in a library.
At least Steam lets you still download it when you purchased it before. I checked today just to make sure it really does still download. Granted, this is as long as Valve may exist but I don’t think there is anything DRM related here that would stop anyone from making a copy of the downloaded game 🤔 May try that later.
While, yes, Steam doing this is… OK… The resale is what matters. Technically passing it on via Gog’s download is “piracy”, but having some sort of physical identifier for the thing makes it legal to resell.
Unless the physical media is tied to an account forever, like what Microsoft tried to do with the Xbox One but backpedaled after massive outcry, or what Valve has been doing for two decades without massive outcry because it’s okay when Valve does it.
In all fairness: A lot of physical releases from back in the days can be redeemed on Steam nowadays. It’s not often obvious but it works for a lot. e.g. for Prey (the 2006 one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prey_(2006_video_game) ) - which saves me the trouble to look for a CD drive I no longer have xD
Yes, I understand that archiving is more tricky nowadays and even Valve may defunct one day. Alas in reality is a > 15 yrs old CD also prone to errors and may no longer work already.
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Disappointed that gmtk doesn’t address the fact that this wouldn’t really be an issue with physical media because it can be re-sold and kept in a library.
At least Steam lets you still download it when you purchased it before. I checked today just to make sure it really does still download. Granted, this is as long as Valve may exist but I don’t think there is anything DRM related here that would stop anyone from making a copy of the downloaded game 🤔 May try that later.
According to PCGamingWiki, the game does have Steam DRM. It was available DRM-free on GOG.
Ah that’s where I did see it in DRM free. Yes you’re correct. It refuses to launch without Steam running.
While, yes, Steam doing this is… OK… The resale is what matters. Technically passing it on via Gog’s download is “piracy”, but having some sort of physical identifier for the thing makes it legal to resell.
Unless the physical media is tied to an account forever, like what Microsoft tried to do with the Xbox One but backpedaled after massive outcry, or what Valve has been doing for two decades without massive outcry because it’s okay when Valve does it.
Wait, do Steam games have physical releases? Like, not just a physical box but physical media you install the game from?
Not anymore but it was commonplace before 2010. Steam killed this.
In all fairness: A lot of physical releases from back in the days can be redeemed on Steam nowadays. It’s not often obvious but it works for a lot. e.g. for Prey (the 2006 one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prey_(2006_video_game) ) - which saves me the trouble to look for a CD drive I no longer have xD
Yes, I understand that archiving is more tricky nowadays and even Valve may defunct one day. Alas in reality is a > 15 yrs old CD also prone to errors and may no longer work already.