Greetings, I am a fan of a classic RPG game called "Gothic". A lot of long time fans, myself included, would like to learns something new and interesting about the game, this is why I do quite a lot of research, seeking out content from alpha/beta stages of the game so I can include all of it in my game documentary videos, which fans coming from Polish, Russian, German, Czech and other smaller communities are really interested in. The Alpha/Beta stage of the game is an interestic topic and it's being actively discussed even today, 20 years after its release. I have seen numerous questions and requests regarding this topic on several big gaming forums. The alpha of Gothic is a really unique case, the game went through very drastic changes durning its development, caused by one reason or another. We believe that these versions of the game contains a lot of intriguing content and answers for some of our questions. Unfortunately, as we know the developers – Piranha Bytes and the publisher – THQ Nordic GmbH have not yet granted access or permission for non-commercial use. We believe it would make no harm to release these old versions of the game and use them in no-profit projects. Here are some of my points:
1. They're in a very deep Abandonware stage. Internal Demo versions were developed back in 1999-2000.
2. The Promotional demo version like 0.56c does not contain unlicensed materials relevant to third-party companies.
3. They no longer represent any potential involvement in the gaming business due to outdated technologies and ease of re-implementation.
4. Publication and permission to use them for non-commercial purposes will allow modders to use it in their projects, which will prolong the life of the game for some time.
5. This will provide an opportunity for fans to do research and analysis, which will allow for more accurate establishment of the development chronology and various other aspects of the game.
6. Players will have a great satisfaction from playing these old versions and discovering something new about their favorite game.
7. It will not cause any harm or financial loss to any of the sides.
8. This will preserve the game's legacy for the gaming history. If these materials are kept in possession of a small, closed groups forever, it is likely that they may eventually be lost once and for all, which will be a great loss for the entire Gothic community and the history of gaming.
9. The act of publishing and/or granting permission for very old game demos, prototypes and materials is practiced by some well-known companies, where after their products age reach a certain point, they would share a source code of the game or release other kinds of materials the companies owning them would no longer profit from anyway. As an example, I can give such names as Id Software, GSC Game World or Arkane Studios.
10. With right decision, you will positively suprise a large part of Gothic fans and just make them a little happy. Many old fans like Odin68, MaGoth, Sporthistoriker and some other long time fans who have been following this game since 1999 and largerly contributing to the community are still dreaming of seeing these very rare and mysterious demo versions, so let's fulfill their dreams while they are still alive, because most of them are more than 50 years old today...
Therefore, I would like to also appeal to all fans, Polish, Russian, German and many others, so this long going matter can be solved at last. In order to reach our goal, we need to unite and show all the higher ups how many of us are out there. Spread this petition across all the game realted boards and fanhubs, so we can gain as much support as possible. The more support we get the more likely it is that the copyright owners will turn their attention towards out common desire. Please, do leave a comment and share your thoughts about the situation. I really hope that with your help we will be able to gain access to the unreleased materials, so they can have their deserved part in gaming history and be used in non-commercial fan projects.