21 September 2003
secondhand nature
I’ve been enjoying playing Diablo, the 1996 classic from Blizzard. I knew Blizzard’s done some great games like Warcraft II, but I’d never tried the Diablo series until chancing across hybrid disks for both I and II (and an expansion) for eight bucks at a yard sale. I’m sure with effort I could’ve found this stuff for free somewhere, but I’d been looking for something to do with my Mac and Diablo’s working fine.
And I’ve realized something. Game creators haven’t made a cent off of me. Ever. I only buy my software on the secondary market. Often, very secondary, as in the case of Sam and Max hit the road that I just picked up for a buck a month ago. I also buy my music, movies and books secondhand. I’m almost positive nobody ever gets any royalties from me. Which is unfortunate, because I feel that if I’m going to spend money on a work of art or fiction or whatever it would be called (other than intellectual property which is generally a complete misnomer), a good amount of it should go back to those responsible for coming up with it.
But I’m too cheap to spring for full price. Which means I’m well-meaning, but tight-fisted. But I’ve got a lot of stuff on my shelves, at least.