Cap'n Magneto is the greatest bargain available in Macintosh entertainment software. But in order to keep it that way, you've gotta pay for it.
Y'see, most games for the Mac cost, say, $50. Of that, the dealer keeps $20, the distributor keeps $10, the publisher keeps about $12.50, and the programmer gets $7.50. None of this is unfair. The publisher is taking chances, paying for expensive advertising and manufacturing fancy packages. The distributor is stocking large quantities of software, some of which will never sell. The dealer has expensive retail space and salespeople to pay.
Some software designers take advantage of their own technology to eliminate the gap between themselves and the users of their programs. I am one of them. I want my work to be widely available at a low price. I want money ONLY from people who find my work entertaining. And I dislike dealing with business, contracts, lawyers, agents, advertising, and all things other than designing and writing Cap'n Magneto's next adventure.
So I don't use copy-protection schemes. I ENCOURAGE users to give away copies of this game. I post my stuff on national networks. I don't hide essential pieces of documentation in little books or on reference cards to keep "pirates" from using my software.
Instead, I ask that you try out Cap'n Magneto for a reasonable time, say 10 hours of play. Give copies to all your friends. If you are entertained, if you like the game, then send me $20. AND tell your friends to do the same.
And yes, it IS important. It's important to me, because I've spent a few thousand hours working on it. It's important to my wife and daughter, who have been looking at me strangely since I told all the business people to go away.
And it's important to YOU. If you support this type of software, you're helping break the bottleneck which has kept good Macintosh software expensive and hard to find for the past two years. You're helping move software distribution out of the "retail" age into a time when high-quality software can be designed, produced, and distributed at a reasonable price.
So if you enjoy Cap'n Magneto and want to see his next adventure, fill out the form included as a MacWrite document. Send your $20 today to PowerTools, 1206 Karen Avenue, Austin, TX 78757. Who knows, you might even get something useful in return.
