World of Goo(d)
Paul and I have been through a couple of busy weeks lately. Although we are not playing too many games these days, we’d like to share some love for one we enjoyed recently: World of Goo.
Developed by 2D Boy, a two-person team, World of Goo is a puzzle game with a simple mechanic—assembling minimal physics-simulated structures so your Goo-balls can exit the level, Lemmings-style. More than this, it has great production values (made with open source software!) and a lot of heart. If you’re in need of some fun, we encourage you to check out the demo.
When you’re ready to take the plunge, you can purchase it on Steam (which we also like), or from WiiWare. ((I may go the Wii route over Christmas because I like waggle controls and it seems to be a bit more reasonably priced than the PC version ($15 vs. $20)))
Postscript
Before you call it to our attention, yes I am aware developer Ron Carmel recently stated that 90% of WoG installs appear to be pirated. WoG has no DRM, so as anti-DRM proponents one might consider this egg on our face. Aside from an obvious counterexample, let me tell you why I am not yet swayed after hearing this news.
While 90% seems like a high number, what does it actually mean? What’s the typical piracy rate for a AAA game with DRM versus an indie game with none? Is 90% outrageous or par for the course? Is it perhaps good? What was the total number sold—90% of what? It’s pretty shoddy reporting on the part of Joystiq and Kotaku to put such flamebait out there without any kind of analysis. Before we can seriously debate the ethics of DRM and piracy, I think we need some ethical journalism first.
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