Regardless of what the final opinion becomes on this particular game, I have one main question that I'd like a staff member or a moderator to objectively answer: why aren't freeware games forcefully treated with the same guidelines as browser games? What makes the former so different from the latter? These days there are browser games with save files, keeping track of your progress, that can be as lengthy and fun as Snailiad, for example. The only obvious difference between the two is that you don't have to download browser games onto a hard drive. Is that criterion enough to warrant entirely different guidelines for each type of game?
I agree, but what if I extend that further: What makes browser and free download PC games different to free iOS and Android games? And if a developer chooses to charge 5 bucks for his game, should it really fall under different guidelines than it would if he chooses to give it away for free instead?
This is a debate that's been had since the day this site went live. It's something that has changed over time (at one time we didn't allow browser games at all) and I expect it will continue to do so in the future.
I would really like a moderator to step into this discussion and provide an opinion though.
I think this is probably something that could do with staff input due to the potential copyright issues, perhaps they have a bit more insight on what is actually legal in this area. As noted we do have a rule against browser games with copyright infringement, but this isn't a browser game and we have commercial games like Limbo of the Lost which was rife with plagiarism. You could make an argument that LotL is a special case because it received a lot of media attention, but personally I've never felt that obscurity is a good reason to not document something in an encyclopedia. Also the game has had a few reviews on other sites (though mostly foreign) and has a MobyGames entry, so then you arrive at the question of exactly how much coverage is enough?
My gut instinct is that the copyright infringement should probably disqualify it, as with browser games, but I'd welcome input from other mods and clarification from the staff. I'm not entirely convinced of either side.
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