Archvile replacement concept

[lamefun]

Got inspired by this thread and decided to make a concept of my own:



(I believe I couldn't get Stallman's head right.)

Name: "Truth Guard" or "Truth Soldier"
Idle sound: "I am St. IGNUcius of the Church of Emacs!"
Alert sound: "I bless your computer, my child!"
Attack sound: "Proprietary software!"
Resurrect sound: Don't know.
Death sound: Don't know.
Walk animation: Clumsy gait like Doom original Revenant's.
Attack effect: Raises its lance, which starts glowing yellow, up, the screen is filled with icons of awesome PROprietary software like: Photoshop, Illustrator, 3ds Max, ZBrush, InDesign, AfterEffects, CryEngine, Flash, Visual Studio, Microsoft Office, etc. instead of flames.

(All sounds in Stallman's voice).

I know Doom's sprite resolutions don't leave much room for detail, but I hope that at least Stallman's head and "DRM" writing on the shield can be made recognizable. So, what do you think?

[Xindage]

maybe i have to visit my doctor after read it :P

[chungy]

Erm. Not sure what the intended joke here is supposed to be, but this is, frankly, terrible.

First of all, it's placing a connection of Stallman in support of patents, DRM, and proprietary software, which is nothing he would go for and probably counts as libel. Even though we had permission to use his image for another purpose, it's only for a hidden easter egg and not spreading falsehoods about his character.

Secondly, it would definitely put Freedoom in a very awckward position of shoving ideologies down a player's throat, in a very obtuse and ugly manner. Freedoom's ideals and philosophy on software freedom can merely be stated on the web site and README file, as they are now, without feeling militant and condescending about it.

Also, you're really suggesting that we use a whole ton of copyrighted and trademarked icons for proprietary software? No, no, no, no.... not only would it be ugly but it's just asking for legal trouble. Just no.

Then, lastly, the design really reminds me of the Strogg from Quake 2. Not sure if that's on purpose but that's still a no-go.

[Obsidian]

The guy can sketch though, I'll say that much. And it's a much more intelligent first post than most of the ones we get, dendrophiliac aside.

[fraggle]

chungy said:

Erm. Not sure what the intended joke here is supposed to be, but this is, frankly, terrible.

I think it's important to assume good faith. lamefun has contributed something that he believed would help further the project and he at least deserves a constructive response.

Free Software is a really important aspect of Freedoom: it's why the project exists in the first place, and why we have Stallman's head as the replacement for Romero's head. I can understand the desire to add something in that further acknowledges that background but if we are to do something, I don't think this is it.

Although Freedoom is Free Software, it isn't a game *about* Free Software. It has its own back story - which we're still in the process of deciding, but it seems pretty clear that it is a sci-fi type plot and nothing to do with Free Software. The whole thing with the "patent" lance and "DRM" shield seems too much like a political cartoon and not in keeping with the style of the other enemies.

As chungy points out it's also incoherent. This monster puts you in a position where you're fighting a Stallman lookalike who's pro-proprietary software. Having RMS's head as an easter egg is okay but having him as an enemy has the potential to be misunderstood.

So I don't think this is a good concept. But if you'd still like to contribute to the project, please feel free to contribute other suggestions. Freedoom needs good artists to complete the remaining monsters (we have raymoohawk but he only has so much time!). Maybe try to come up with something that's just a more conventional monster.