Games are special? 2007-11-23 - By Andrew White
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> Actually yes. Games *are* special :)
I don't think they are. Modern network games need to self-update,
have user-specific data (be it saves, caches, configuration settings,
or add-ons) and (possibly) some global data. One could say the same
about iTunes.
[As an aside, I'm not convinced that there is a class of data that
needs to be shared but is not inherently "admin" data (updates, child
locks, etc). I *don't* want screen resolution, sound card, or other
config info that I set up on my account to be clobbered by another
user's account. If it needs to be "one true data", then it should be
under the control of the game's "administrator". If it can be
changed by anyone, then it should be user-specific. Same as any
other app.]
In general, a game shouldn't require system permissions beyond any
other application. Thus, the issue is about the game's closed
ecosystem, not unusual interactions with the OS.
Ulimately, this boils down into three levels of permissions.
(1) Permission to install the game
(2) Permission to update the game (including creating system-specific
config, if any)
(3) Permission to use the game (including creating user-specific config)
Obviously, the permissions issue can be worked around by installing
the game in ~/Applications (your game will run from an arbitrary
folder, won't it?). But that isn't a great solution for shared
games, especially since it might involve its own permissions hacks.
The real trick is moving from #1 to #2 - the recognition that the
administrator of the *system* and the administrator of the *game*
might not be the same administrative entity. What is needed is not a
way to allow games to run roughshod over the permissions model.
Instead, what is needed is a way to designate a broader definition of
"administrator" for a *subset* of the game data, and to make this
easily accessible by the user.
It's currently quite doable, except that I as admin for the computer
need to (1) create a group and add the appropriate users and (2) know
what directories (or worse, files) the game needs permission to
update. If there was a way to hide this behind a simple pop-up box,
that would be great.
Aside: as for deleting saves, most Windows games don't delete saves
when you uninstall them either, which is IMO a good thing. I should
be able to delete and reinstall a game without losing *my* data, and
should be able to delete and reinstall *my* data without upsetting
the install. The problems on Windows are that sometimes *my* data is
intermingled with the game data, sometimes its somewhere wacky,
sometimes updates are not deleted by the uninstaller, and that prefs
are often squirrelled into the registry rather in a nice, easy /
Preferences/NameOfApp.
--
Andrew White
andrew.w@(protected)
+61 403 077 110
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