Giving Myself Some Rules

After 5 games, I think I’d like to give myself some guidelines to follow for coming-up games, or rather for how to pick them.

1. I will focus on games falling under the broad umbrella of the term “Public Domain” (PD), which admittedly was used loosey-goosey in the early days of non-commercial software. At one point I have to read-up on the specifics of that but for now I’ll focus on games explicitly distributed as:
   • Public Domain (PD): Software with no copyright restrictions. Anyone can use, modify, distribute, and sell it freely.
   • Freeware: Software that is distributed for free, but typically not open source. The source code is usually not available, and usage is governed by the publisher’s own rules.
   • Shareware: Software that is distributed for free, but with the expectation that users will pay for it after a trial period or after using it for a certain period.
   • Licenseware: A term used for software that is distributed for free but with a license agreement that may include usage restrictions.
   • Giftware: Software that is given away as a "gift" or bonus with another product (e.g., hardware, other software).
   • Open Source: Software with source code available for anyone to view, modify, and distribute under specific licenses, not the same as Freeware, Shareware, and Public Domain in the specific sense, as Open Source software is usually not free of copyright restrictions.
2. I will mostly skip games that are clear clones of commercial games or ported from other platforms, or give them just a quick glance, unless they have some unique twist or are particularly interesting in their own right.
3. My main focus will be on games that are unique and show interesting ideas, mechanics, or aesthetics, or an interesting (or particularly moronic) story or vibe. Following from this:
4. I won’t spend much time on games like Arcade or Action games unless they have some unique twist or are particularly interesting in their own right. Another reason for this is that I’m not particularly good at these games :)
5. There is always room for exceptions, of course, for example tracking the course of specific prolific developers, even if all they did were blatant clones.