This week, my class covered the issue of copyright, ownership and institutional control. I feel like my reflection on this entry is going to be a bit messy, haha…

When we touch the topic of copyright and license, I recall reading through the license agreement in Steam when I first purchased a game. At that time, all I know is that they have the rights to take away the game without refund. I was wary of buying anything until I understood what it meant. 

Steam is a medium between game owner and gamer, where I as a gamer buy a digital copy of the game but I do not own the original game because it belongs to the game owner. I only purchase the license of the digital copy where I can play it however I like but the owner has the right to withdraw the game from the platform or straight away shut the whole game server down. 

It was understandable as the creator of the game has the ownership whereas we as gamers have the license to play the game. My first purchase was The Forest in Oct 2023 because Chris and I ran out of co-op games to play. From the license agreement, I can only understand that I do not own the actual game but will have the permit to play it. Right now as I learn more about copyright and ownership, I understand that the copyright law is to protect the creator from copycats and the license is to protect the gamer from illegally owning the game. 

This subject reminds me of some apps or media content such as music and video that are not available in my country. Noted by Ogonji (2024), such media only have licenses that are limited to certain countries or due to legal regulation in some countries. One example of media that I really want but could not was a game called Twisted Wonderland by Aniplex and Walt Disney Japan. 

When they released an English version of the game, I was ecstatic until it was announced that it was only available in the US and Canada. Some said this is an issue regarding copyright and the server limitation of the game, but all I know is the disappointment of not having the chance to play the game. At present, it was announced that Twisted Wonderland will be having its animation series released in Oct 2025, and hopefully, I’ll get to watch it. 

Fragments of Fanatic's Library

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