No, because here at Carpe Fulgur we generally despise OnLive.

Onlive has several major issues, all centered around the fact that you have no control over the content whatsoever. There are no local files on your machine at all- everything is on a server controlled by Onlive. This means that, if your internet connection is interrupted (and there's LOTS of ways that can happen still) or if Onlive decides to suspend your account for whatever reason, you're out of luck. With services like Steam, there's at least accommodation made for these scenarios (and with Gamersgate and the like you get the game DRM-free so no worries at all). It makes modding impossible, and for a lot of PC games especially half the fun can be in modding the hell out of it. And then there's ownership issues - we're still fond of the idea that our customers do "own" their games, even if games ownership is becoming a contentious point of debate these days. With OnLive, that's impossible. Your game is never in your possession at any point. And we're not particularly cool with that.

And of course, none of this gets into our doubts about the sustainability of OnLive's current model (I.E. the need for ever-expanding hardware when our customers can run the game themselves just fine) or other doubts we have about "cloud computing" in general, at least as the technology currently exists. So, no, we have no plans to ever bring Recettear, Chantelise or any of our games to OnLive. Sorry if this disappoints a few people, but somehow I think it'll make far more people happy than sad.

Uh, no. Even if it was for the PC: uh, no. We kind of like selling our games on more than "IMAGINE BOOBS, FOREVER".

Twilight by a mile. Transformers is just robot violence-porn that perhaps glorifies the military too much. Twilight actively encourages young women to seek out unhealthy relationships, and even the actors hate it, which just about says it all, methinks.

Xenoblade for the Wii for North America. COME ON, NOA, DON'T KILL A DREAM.

Well, you might want to talk to XSEED, not us! I've been puttin' the screws on a bunch of my Distinguished Competitors to hop into the PC arena because it'll make 'em Gobs of Boondollars, but fan pressure always helps too.

What I think is that it shows a Nintendo more desperate and unsure of what it is doing than I've ever seen (or since at least the Virtual Boy), and I've followed them since the NES days.

I'm re-asking *myself* this question in order to address one VERY IMPORTANT point I forgot to mention previously: we don't intend to hire unpaid interns, ever.

Because the concept of an unpaid intern is, I feel, deeply immoral and gut-churningly exploitative.

Right when Carpe Fulgur was starting out, all three of us technically didn't work for any pay, but that's because we all knew there was no money in the company at all at that point and that we were working for a future payoff. Ever since then, all our work has been paid, because that's how *the world works*. You do work, you get compensated for it. The idea that a corporation can simply command a person to work for them, for no tangible compensation, ever, is anathema to me.

And I don't *want* people to work for free, or who want to do so. I want people who value the work they do. I want people who are confident that their work is worth being paid for.

So if we bring more staff into CF, they will be paid positions. We will never take on unpaid interns, nor will we accept applications to become such. I find the very concept of unpaid internship deeply unsettling and a concept that says a god damned lot about where we are as a society right now.

That was for Lizsoft specifically; EGS has always been behind our "DRM-free" philosophy to software releases.

As for why we pursue DRM-free software, it has to be noted that, typically, most companies put additional DRM into Steam copies of their games, meaning that the games are DOUBLY DRM'd. This goes back to a concept I mentioned earlier; at that point, it's the pirates who have the easier time running the game. We don't bother with DRM because ultimately it makes the experience for the end user harder and doesn't really help with the piracy situation.

As for why we don't mind Steam's "DRM" so much, Steam as a platform actually adds value to a product rather than detracting from it. Automatic patching, an integrated chat client that doesn't interfere with the game as it runs, a solid and fast download system, an easy-to-use library of games with robust options... never mind features like Achievements which we still hope to add to our games in the future (and EGS is now actively researching Steamworks integration). We still attempt to provide "true" DRM-free solutions wherever we can, but in our eyes, Steam is definitely the closest to "doing DRM right", as the client provides actual, useful services as opposed to simply blocking you from using your software.

Shit yes I would travel into space, that would be ballin'. I mean, it's space! SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WIWm1VMABw

Play

I was generally a fan of Working Designs' actual work back in The Day; in an era where many companies put in only the bare minimum effort to ship a game, WD scripts often came to life in wonderful ways, even if there was the occasional (or more than occasional) Clinton Joke in there. They unquestionably challenged the rest of the industry to step up its game.

What I came to NOT be a fan of was Victor Ireland's business practices. Not informing developers of changes made to games (from plot to code changes), allegedly withholding contractually-obligated funds, obstructing the cast of Lunar from helping XSEED with Silver Star Harmony; what's come to light in the years since WD closed down has soured my impression of the company to a fair degree. Our willingness - no, our commitment - to consulting the original developers stems in part from what we learned of WD's practices in that regard and a general desire to do better than that.

So I'm a fan of some of the games, certainly, and they helped nudge me into this field. Working Designs itself?... well, they sure informed the way this operation is run, I'll say that much.

Skablango!

Well, first of all, as far as we're concerned our stance on DRM is simply common sense. Among a host of other things, DRM interferes with a legitimate user's attempts to enjoy their product, and if it gets stripped out the PIRATES end up with a better experience. That seems rather backwards from what the situation actually should be like, so we just don't bother. That it saves us lots of money on DRM software helps immensely too.

As for resistance? It depends on the developer. EGS more or less shares our philosophy on DRM and was on board from day one. Lizsoft took more convincing because they use their online DRM system to track how many sales of the game there've been. The negotiations stalled out for a bit because it took a little while to make our case to MEL that the huge majority of western gamers are unremittingly hostile to DRM schemes of any stripe, but we eventually made our case successfully.

Imagine this emoticon, forever: http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-stare.gif

Of course, then I'd start derping completely and endlessly over just how in the name of fuck we'd handle localizing and releasing ALL those games, sweet GodJesus.

Yes, because in many other ways OnLive is a terrible service that means terrible things for customers and their rights. Especially for games as reflex-responsive as Recettear's dungeon sections and Chantelise, we vastly prefer having people purchase the game directly and playing it locally as opposed to being at the mercy of their internet connections. And that's just one criticism I can level against the service.

Well, first of all, I'm glad you liked Fortune Summoners so much! People enjoying the stuff we work on really helps to make the hard work worth it. :3

Ultimately, however, any decision to "revive" Fortune Summoners and make a second game will lie with Lizsoft, not us; the IP and development resources lie with MEL. I'd like to see a second game in the series, I think iterating on the gameplay could make "Fortune Summoners 2" even better than the first. It will be up to Lizsoft to determine whether or not they want to do a second game - and whether or not FS made enough money to justify working on another one. Of course, you guys know what to do on that second point. :3